Applications are now open for anyone ambitious but qualified as NASA is hiring astronauts for the Mars mission – whenever that will happen. While original plans involved the year 2020 for the first manned mission to the surface of the red planet, it may not happen until several years later, depending on how well funding the mission from the public and federal resources goes.
Regardless, NASA has decided that a manned mission to the planet of promise is the next biggest step in human evolution and achievement. And because the organization came to the conclusion that it cannot afford to focus on both a potential Mars mission as well as another landing on the Moon, it seems to have, after all, chosen that Mars should be the next destination for mankind.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is therefore placing all their efforts in raising funds for the Mars mission and training its future team of astronauts to be. For the first time in four years, NASA is hiring the next generation of astronauts; however, only one of them could eventually actually go to the Red Planet.
The team of astronauts would be training at Johnson Space Center in Houston; and that’s no easy feat. Anyone hoping to leave in a space shuttle for another planet one day needs to have excellent physical condition to begin with, but also a hefty amount of specialized training. That includes things such as spending a long time underwater and performing tasks in what is very similar to a zero gravity scenario, understand and train in the harsh conditions of outer space as well as prepare for a real life, real scale shuttle launch.
But being an astronaut is not only about being physically and mentally fit for the trip. NASA is currently looking for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree in math, science or engineering, with experience or with a military background as the minimum requirements.
NASA also places a lot of emphasis on communication skills. A 2 years long mission on a space craft requires a high degree of communication skills and teamwork, especially if you take into account that the individuals who will be joining need to be able to work together comfortably in the tight confines of a space ship.
Even though the next class of astronauts is only looking for 8 to 14 people, more than 6,100 applicants have already shown their interest in the mission.
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Deborah Campbell
