The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that it is currently recruiting candidate astronauts for its future missions, including the scheduled Moon mission.
NASA will be accepting applications from March 2 to 31, 2020 to aspiring astronauts who could take part in its mission to the Moon by 2024. It has been almost half a century since humans have stepped foot on the lunar surface.
Since the 1960s, there have been 350 candidates chosen by NASA to train as astronauts, with 48 currently remaining in the active astronaut corps.
Requirements to become an astronaut
With NASA being a US federal agency, the primary requirement of becoming an astronaut is US citizenship. Dual citizens are also eligible to send an application.
In the past, late British astronaut Piers Sellers overcame this requirement by leaving the UK and becoming a US citizen in order to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut. Sellers was part of three space shuttle missions.
Another key requirement is a science background. Applicants are expected to have at least a master's degree in the fields of science or mathematics, including engineering, biological science, physical science, and computer science.
Other professionals qualified to apply are qualified medical doctors or people who have completed a nationally recognized test pilot program.
Aside from these, astronaut candidates must have two years of related professional experience, or a minimum of 1,000 hours of flying time as lead pilot in a jet aircraft.
After fulfilling these requirements and submitting an online application, selected candidates must undergo a physical examination. Selected candidates will be subject to two years of training and evaluation, that include courses in military water survival, technical skills, robotics training and Russian language.
However, NASA indicated that unsuccessful candidates may still be selected for different roles within the agency.
For those who are not eligible to apply but still want to go to space and have the financial capacity, they can become part of Virgin Galactic's space tourism program.
