NASA puts out job ad for new astronauts

Updated November 17, 2011 00:12:04

US space agency NASA is trying to recruit new astronauts, but there is no guarantee they will ever take off in an American shuttle.

The job advertisement asks for creative team players with a scientific background, leadership skills, and a sense of daring.

It is a full-time, permanent position, paying between $US64,724 and $US141,715.

Only US citizens can apply.

To be selected, aspiring astronauts must have good eyesight, low blood pressure and be between 1.57 and 1.9 metres tall.

The chosen candidates undergo about two years of training and evaluation.

The training includes modules on International Space Station (ISS) systems, extravehicular activity skills, robotics skills, the Russian language, and aircraft flight readiness.

If the chosen few do make it in to space it will be as passengers on board Russian rockets.

The job ad explains that travel to and from the ISS will be aboard the Russian Soyuz vehicle, rather than one of the agency's own space shuttles.

NASA's fleet was officially retired in the summer, while ambitious plans to send a manned capsule to an asteroid or even to Mars are at least a decade away.


Topics: astronomy-space, united-states

First posted November 16, 2011 23:40:25