Over 12,000 Potential Astronauts Send Applications To NASA

NASA has officially concluded the application period for its astronaut program. In total, the agency received 12,000 applications from individuals wanting to be part of NASA's future space exploration missions.

This year’s round of applications was kicked off on March 2 and ended on March 31. It marked the second-highest number of applications that NASA has ever received, trailing behind the record of 18,300 during last year’s program.

Now that NASA has closed the applications, members of the agency’s Astronaut Selection Board will begin their work by going through the 12,000 submissions. As they go through the applications, the board members will select which candidates are most qualified to join NASA’s astronaut program.

Those who will pass the initial screening will be introduced by NASA sometime during the summer of 2021. According to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, those who will pass the program will most likely lead the agency’s future missions for its Artemis spaceflight program.

“We’ve entered a bold new era of space exploration with the Artemis program, and we are thrilled to see so many incredible Americans apply to join us,” NASA said in a statement. “The next class of Artemis Generation astronauts will help us explore more of the Moon than ever before and lead us to the Red Planet.”

For the latest round of applications, NASA revealed that it had tightened its requirements. For instance, the agency raised the education requirement from a bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree. NASA also shortened the entire application period from two months to only one.

Anne Roemer, the head of the Astronaut Selection Board, explained that the reason why NASA changed the requirements and other details of the program is to increase the agency’s chances of receiving applications from strong candidates.

“We’re able to build such a strong astronaut corps at NASA because we have such a strong pool of applicants to choose from,” she stated. “It’s always amazing to see the diversity of education, experience and skills that are represented in our applicants. We are excited to start reviewing astronaut applications to identify the next class of astronaut candidates.”