Your childhood dreams may have been dashed, but Nasa offered hope that they might yet be fulfilled.
According to a new report discovered by Espace.com, the space agency may soon need more astronauts – and you could be one of them. May be.
The report reveals NASA’s astronaut corps has shrunk from nearly 150 people to just 44. As the agency prepares to send humans to the Moon and Mars, officials fear that cadre may be too small .
These concerns have been bubbling for some time. In March 2020, NASA announced that he needed new explorers to cover his growing range of missions.
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⭐️* 🌒 👩🏾🚀👨🏽🚀 ⬅️This could be you!
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. *🌎* . . * .Apply for #BeAnAstronaut before 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31: https://t.co/oXotsacfgA pic.twitter.com/Wcy5y0dnEI
-NASA (@NASA) March 29, 2020
the space The agency has yet to launch its next recruiting drive, but it’s only a matter of time before the vacancies are posted.
I’m already dusting off my resume and reviewing Armageddon in preparation for my interview. I have also forensically analyzed the needs of NASA astronauts to give you a chance to join me.
A changing role
NASA job requirements have changed dramatically since the first astronauts were recruited in 1959.
This could be to your advantage. Many of today’s space cadets wouldn’t have had a chance back then.
The original seven candidates were military test pilots, a requirement President Eisenhower introduced to simplify the selection process.
Applicants needed a minimum of 1,500 flight hours and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. They also had to be under 40, in excellent physical condition and shorter than 5 feet 11 inches.
That left a group of just 108 Air Force, Navy and Marines. A series of reviews then narrowed that down to a final seven.
Today’s recruits have been spared some of these requirements. But they must also complete new ones.
The application process
the 2021 recruits – the first new class in four years – was to be American nationals.
If, like me, you’re a dirty stranger, you could have taken various pathways to citizenship. This being America, the quickest route was get filthy rich.
Candidates also needed a master’s degree in a STEM-related field or one of the following:
- Two years of work towards a doctoral program in a related field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
- A completed Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Completion (or enrollment that would result in completion by June 2021) of a nationally recognized trial pilot school program
Flight experience, however, was no longer essential. The program required either two years of relevant work experience or 1,000 hours of flight time at the controls of a jet aircraft.
There were also no longer any age or height restrictions, but finalists had to pass a rigorous physical examination.
This included 20/20 vision tests and measurements for spaceship and spacesuit. Applicants also had to be free of medical conditions that could cause problems during spaceflight.
It’s a long list of requirements, but NASA blueprints to broaden the pool of future talent.
I believe i can fly
The class of 2021 was chosen from more than 12,000 applicants.
The 10 recruits are between 32 and 45 years old. Each contestant has enviable academic credentials, despite all being stereotypical space nerds.
While the culture includes Air Force majors and NASA aerospace engineers, some of them are just brilliant scientists.
I hope NASA drops the entry standards for the next class. With crewed missions to Mars on the horizon, space wars brewing and Elon Musk envisioning making us an interplanetary species, there’s never been a better time to become an astronaut.
I can’t wait to toast our future space travels. The first glass of recycled urine is on me.
