NASA Opens Astronaut Applications for a Corps That Will Live and Work on the Moon
Administrator Jared Isaacman says selected candidates would test spacecraft and staff a future moon base; nursing master's degrees now count, and applications close Dec. 3.
NASA is accepting applications for a new class of astronauts, and this time the job description includes living on the Moon. The candidates selected would not only test spacecraft but also live and work at a future moon base, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement released Saturday. "Those missions will demand technical excellence, sound judgment, teamwork, and courage," the statement said. "NASA's astronaut corps has always called on remarkable Americans willing to take on extraordinary challenges in service to the nation."
The corps is small. NASA currently has 32 active astronauts, and since missions began in the 1960s the agency has selected 370 people to train as astronauts. The process is intensely competitive: of more than 8,000 applicants for NASA's last astronaut class, only 10 were chosen. Any U.S. citizen can apply, and there is no official age limit. The starting salary is $164,395, and applications will be accepted through Dec. 3.
The minimum requirements are a master's degree in a STEM field such as engineering or math, plus at least three years of related professional experience after finishing the degree. NASA will also consider candidates in lieu of a master's degree and work experience if they are in a STEM PhD program, are doctors, or are pilots with extensive flight experience.
One requirement has changed. "Nursing degrees are now included in the STEM definition," NASA spokesperson Anna Schneider told NPR on Sunday. "Master's-level nursing degrees now meet the minimum educational requirement, whereas nursing degrees were previously excluded." The shift widens the pool for a corps that, on a lunar base, will need people who can handle medical care far from Earth.
Selected candidates will go through two years of training. NASA said astronauts will prepare for demanding missions, including landing near the Moon's south pole, a region of permanent shadow and potential water ice that has become a focus of lunar exploration.
The recruitment push comes as NASA works toward its goal of returning humans to the Moon in 2028, the first time since 1972. The agency is relying on private companies, including Blue Origin and SpaceX, to develop the systems and spacecraft needed to land crews. At a Nov. 7 press conference on the progress of the Artemis III mission, Isaacman said he is "very confident" the mission will launch in 2027. NASA named the Artemis III crew in June.
For applicants, the timeline is tight: the Dec. 3 deadline is less than four weeks away, and the selected class would then spend two years in training. NASA's statement frames the job as living and working on the Moon, not only visiting it.
