Want to be an astronaut? NASA is accepting applications for the first time in 2 years.

Are you looking for a new job and OK alongside a activity commute of 140 myriad miles?

On Saturday, NASA announced that it had opened applications for its next astronaut applicant category — the archetypal period the area agency has accepted applications for prospective astronauts since 2024.

The agency stated it volition assistance guide in the "Golden Age of innovation and exploration," including missions to the lunar South Pole and, potentially, the red planet.

"The group we choose could stroll on the Moon, live and activity at the Moon Base, and assistance pioneer the systems and operations that volition ultimately transport crews to Mars," Jared Isaacman, the agency's administrator, stated in a media release.

The bar is high: Applicants must be a US inhabitant alongside a completed Master's flat in a STEM site — or an equal background, specified as medicinal degrees, doctoral work, or test-pilot training. They additionally need three complete years of applicable activity experience.

"NASA seeks astronaut candidates who portray the finest of American ingenuity, skill, and determination," Anna Schneider, NASA's Public Affairs Specialist, stated in a statement. "They must display powerful specialized expertise, operational judgment, leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and the capability to execute demanding missions safely and effectively."

NASA stated it received complete 8,000 applications during its final endowment search. Only 10 applicants made the cut.

Successful applicants must continue medication tests, a backdrop safety investigation, imagination testing, and another medicinal and psychiatric exams. They'll additionally need to continue a h2o endurance test and be consenting to expend lengthy stretches in hazardous and confined spaces.

They'll get two years of training — and volition be topic to "irregular hours," obtain an annual pay of $164,395, and can't activity remotely.

The agency expects to province its new category in delayed 2027.

If you're preparedness on applying, godspeed.