Seeking the Best Astronaut Candidates a message from our Administrator Charlie Bolden

NASA is on a journey to Mars, and it’s hard to imagine a more exciting time to be part of our team. Scientific exploration and technology development has brought us closer to the Red Planet than we ever have been, and there are many ways for talented and enthusiastic people to join us on that journey.  One of those opportunities begins today, as we open a new call for the next class of astronauts. At NASA, we’re working every day to advance the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket that will make take humans farther into space than ever before. At the same time, our industry partners The Boeing Company and SpaceX are developing new commercial crew spacecraft to return crewed launches to the International Space Station from Florida’s Space Coast. These new astronauts will fly on American-made spacecraft and help us reach an asteroid in cis-lunar space and Mars in the 2030s. It’s the biggest thing human beings have ever done, and so we’re understandably excited about the many facets of this work. The agency needs the most talented and qualified astronauts to fly on those missions, and for the next couple of months, we need the leaders of tomorrow to send us their credentials and let us know what they can bring to the table for the next giant leaps in exploration. Last week, I was proud to announce that NASA has been named the Best Place to Work in government in the large agency category for the fourth year in a row, thanks to your hard work. We have a compelling mission, carried out every day by the best workforce in the federal government – and our astronauts are a very public face of that workforce. If you want to apply, among the credentials you’ll need are a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological, physical or computer science or mathematics and at least three years of related professional experience, or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. To apply, you’ll need to go to USAJobs.gov and search for the keyword astronaut. We want this next class to be our most diverse group of candidates yet. If you know someone who you think might like to join our team, please encourage them to apply. And whether you aspire to fly in space or prefer to keep your feet anchored here on Earth, thank you for your ongoing contributions to our mission and for keeping the United States the world’s leader in science, aeronautics and space exploration.  Charlie B.