Ask a child what they want to be when they grown up and chances are they’ll tell you that they want to be a pilot or an astronaut. It’s one of those professions that people dream about, and you don’t necessarily have to be a kid to dream about going to space, if you find yourself dozing off at your desk and into dreams where you’re an astronaut, then you’ll want to follow up on NASA’s new program.
This is the first time that NASA has opened up applications to its space program since 2011, you can apply for that dream job provided that you meet the stringent regulations that govern who can and can not be deemed fit to become an astronaut.
The agency expects to go through the entire selection process throughout the next year and announce its final candidate selections by mid-2017. The lucky few who get chosen may fly on any of four different U.S. spacecraft during their careers, like the International Space Station, the two commercial crew spacecraft that are currently in developed by U.S. companies as well as NASA’s Orion deep-space exploration vehicle.
NASA is going to accept candidates from a variety of backgrounds, including physicians, scientists and engineers. Interested candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics.
NASA’s astronaut application website is now live and will continue to accept submissions through February 18th, 2016. Qualifying U.S. citizens can apply at the application website.