It's not often that the federal government announces job openings in front of elementary school students, but that's just what NASA did last week. The kids cheered as an official explained the agency's largest-ever effort to recruit astronauts. Those accepted will join the 2013 astronaut candidate class. The highly visible recruitment effort is another signs of changing times at NASA.
For years, the agency had little trouble filling its astronaut ranks. Indeed, NASA officials say, they had little need to engage in recruiting. With high profile programs in place -- especially the space shuttle -- NASA was flooded by applications. That's no longer the case. With the shuttle program ended, the agency without spacecraft of its own and current astronauts hitching rides on other nation's rockets, the agency's profile has diminished. That has helped cut the number of those interested in becoming an astronaut.
NASA officials hope to reverse that trend with the new program, including the high-profile kick-off event. Moreover, applications are available on-line, and there's a flashy, music-laden recruitment video on YouTube. Clearly, NASA hopes to attract recruits from a wide cross-section of American society.
Even so, the qualifications remain exacting, and properly so. It's possible that an astronaut in the class of 2013 will fly in space, either aboard U.S.-built commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station or, later, aboard a government-built Orion capsule. If it's the latter, a landing on an asteroid or Mars is a possibility. No wonder the standards are tough.
There are physical requirements. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, be between 5 foot 2 inches and 6 foot 3 inches, have vision that can be corrected to 20/20 and not have high blood pressure. The educational requirements are rigorous. Would-be astronauts must have at least a bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or math as well as proficiency in basic physics. That's a minimum.
Most current astronauts earned a master's or doctorate degree. An affinity for foreign language will help, too. Astronauts must learn Russian. Those are stiff requirements, but NASA still expects to receive about 3,000 qualified candidates for a class of about 15.
The benefits of becoming an astronaut are many. There's the opportunity to serve the nation and to advance the cause of science. The pay is not bad, either -- between $64,700 and $141,700 annually. Then there's the travel, at government expense, of course.
Those who complete training will do a lot of it. They'll represent NASA at home and abroad. And if current NASA plans become fact, at least some of the class of 2013 will fly into space, perhaps to distances never previously achieved by mankind. That's reason enough for qualified applicants to consider NASA's latest job offer.