With the Missions Mars on the list of wishes, NASA chooses its new astronauts – and their salary will exceed $ 150,000

On Monday, the space agency announced the 10 people chosen for its class of astronaut candidates in 2025, selected from more than 8,000 candidates in the United States, which represents an acceptance rate of approximately 0.125%, which makes the chances much more intimidating than the admission rate of 4% of Harvard.

For the first time in NASA history, women are more numerous than men in the last class of astronauts: six women and four men will suffer two years of intensive training, preparing for future missions at the international space station, the moon and even in Mars.

“Today, our mission propels us even more while we are preparing for our next giant jump with the new class of Astronauts from NASA,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of the NASA Johnson Space Center in a press release. “Representing the best and most brilliant in America, this class of astronaut candidates will inaugurate the golden age of innovation and exploration while we push towards the Moon and Mars.”

Unlike most students, NASA astronaut candidates earn generous government salaries during their training, and if they finish the program and become full astronauts, their annual salary can reach $ 152,000. Although lucrative compared to most higher education programs, it is delivered with unique challenges and without the prospect of overtime and risk remuneration.

For astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, these challenges recently took up the house. After initially planned to spend eight days in space, technical problems occurred with their Boeing Starliner spaceship and their trip was extended to 286 days. While astronauts receive accessory amounts for each day in space, it costs only $ 5 per day, which means that Williams and Wilmore only reported $ 1430 for their temporary long -term service.

“When NASA astronauts are aboard the international space station, they receive regular wages from the 40 -hour work week,” said NASA Fortune In a statement earlier this year. “During his stay in space, NASA astronauts are under official travel orders as federal employees, therefore their transport, their accommodation and their meals are provided.”

How to become a candidate for the NASA astronaut

Even if the NASA astronaut selection process is extremely competitive, the qualifications to be applied are relatively simple. The requirements include:

• Be an American citizen
• Meet one of the four education requirements:
  • Have a master’s degree in a STEM field, including engineering, biological sciences, physical sciences, computer science or mathematics, an accredited institution
  • Two years of work to a doctoral program in a field of science, technology, engineering or related mathematics
  • Doctor of medical medicine, osteopathic medicine or related medicine diploma
  • Completion (or current registration which will result in completion by June 2025) of a school pilot school program recognized nationally.
• Have a minimum of three years of related professional experience obtained after the completion of the diploma (or 1,000 hours of pilot in command with at least 850 of these hours in high performance jet planes for pilots) for doctors, residence time can count for experience.
• Being able to successfully finish the long -term astronaut of physical NASA.

Although there are no age restrictions (the average age is 34 years), candidates must also have leadership, teamwork and communication skills. Once NASA begins to seek the next series of astronaut candidates, individuals must submit a request via the USAJOBS portal, like any other federal job.

Among the 2025 class, members came from soldiers, private sector, medical residences and federal science agencies.

Billionaires are optimistic about space trips

The most recent set of NASA astronauts intervenes, because many billionaire technology leaders are becoming more and more optimistic about space travel prospects in the near future.

“In 2035, this graduate student, if they always go to university, could very well go on a mission to explore the solar system on a spaceship in a completely new, exciting, super well -remunerated and super interesting work,” predicted the CEO of Openai, Sam Altman, the video journalist Cleo Abram earlier this year.

And although it is not clear if Altman’s prediction will become a reality given the constant setbacks that afflict the spatial exploration industry, the private investment continues to rise. Jeff Bezos would have sank $ 14.6 billion in his own money in his space technology company, Blue Origin. Meanwhile, Elon Musk SpaceX – which has undoubtedly contributed to maintaining spatial innovation afloat in the United States – has become one of the most precious private companies in the world, estimated at around $ 400 billion.

“I would like to die on Mars. Simply not on the impact,” said Musk in 2013, a statement that now resonates for the next generation aimed at following its traces.

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