NASA Wants New Astronauts, and the Moon Base Paperwork Comes Standard

NASA is taking applications for its next class of astronauts through 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, December 3. The agency expects to make a final selection in late 2027, putting the new cohort on track to begin training around 2028, roughly the same two-year runway the 2025 class of 10 is currently working through.

The requirements have not softened for the space age: U.S. citizenship, a master's degree in a STEM field (or two years of related doctoral work, a medical degree, or Test Pilot School instead), at least three years of relevant professional experience after that degree, or 750 hours as pilot-in-command in a high-performance jet for pilots, and a passing grade on NASA's long-duration astronaut flight physical. Anyone leaning on Test Pilot School or a medical residency to qualify needs to finish it by July 2027.

NASA is framing the class explicitly around what comes after the International Space Station. "The people we select could walk on the Moon, live and work at the Moon Base," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, tying the hire directly to the agency's plans to return to the Moon, build the Moon Base, and "lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars." It is a job posting with a childhood fantasy attached and a two-year unpaid training period before anyone is even eligible to compete for a flight.

Source: NASA Watch

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →