Do you want to prepare for a career in space? NASA is hiring astronauts

The last date to submit the application form is March 31.

US space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is seeking astronaut candidates for its future space missions that include Moon and Mars exploration.

Starting today, aspiring candidates may apply. The last date to submit the application form is March 31. Final astronaut candidates are expected to be selected in mid-2021 to begin training as the next class of Artemis Generation astronauts, NASA said in a press release on Monday.

Upon successful completion of the training, the new astronauts could launch on American rockets and spacecraft, developed for NASA's Commercial Crew Program or on the agency's powerful new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to live and work aboard the International Space Station.

Becoming an astronaut is no easy task, because being an astronaut is no easy task. Those who apply will likely be competing against thousands who have dreamed of and worked toward going to space for as long as they can remember. But somewhere among those applicants are our next astronauts, and we look forward to meeting you.

Steve Koerner, NASA's director of flight operations and chair of the Astronaut Selection Board at NASA's Johnson Space Center

Application requirements

Applicants must have:

• United States citizenship and a master's degree in a STEM field from an accredited institution
• At least two years of related, progressively responsible professional experience or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft.
• Must pass the NASA long-duration spaceflight physical.

For the first time, applicants will have to undergo a two hour online assessment.

Seeking to explore more of the lunar surface, the agency is currently preparing for the launch of Artemis, a program to return astronauts ( the first woman, and next man) to the lunar surface by 2024. The Artemis mission will be a stepping stone for sending astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s.

Eight years ago I was looking at the call for astronaut applications just like you are. I decided to go for it. Will you?⁣⁣https://t.co/4hy6xqZTds#BeAnAstronaut pic.twitter.com/nNnSW6pR4J

— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) March 3, 2020