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Do you dream of leaving this planet?
NASA is looking for its next astronauts, and you have until April 2 to get the word out.
“Typically, this is a very popular application,” said April Jordan, NASA’s astronaut selection manager.
Your chances of being chosen are slim. NASA last solicited applications in 2020, and more than 12,000 people applied.
The agency took a year and a half to process the applications. NASA selected only 10 hopefuls, or 0.083%. This makes Harvard’s acceptance rate of 3.5% of high school applicants seem high.
“So when I say ‘popular,'” Ms. Jordan said, “that’s probably an understatement.”
Ms Jordan is on a media tour to promote the “right conditions” to become an astronaut in 2024, unlike in the 1960s when astronauts were all white and almost all from the military.
Joining her on the trip is Victor Glover, a nine-year veteran of the astronaut corps who stopped by The New York Times to give us a glimpse of himself How to pass the rigorous selection process.
To become a NASA astronaut today, you must be a U.S. citizen and must pass the astronaut exam.
NASA does set the bar pretty high for education—a master’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, followed by at least three years of relevant professional experience.
Otherwise, the agency tries to keep an open mind. (For example, there are no age restrictions and no 20/20 vision requirement.)
“We want the group of astronaut candidates we select to reflect the country they represent,” Ms. Jordan said.
Take Mr. Glover, for example.
In some ways, he fits a historical archetype. Before joining NASA, he was a Navy pilot and trained as a test pilot.
He is also breaking historical barriers.
In 2020, he became the first black astronaut to serve as an astronaut on the International Space Station, having lived there for 20 years. In 2025, he will become the first black astronaut to orbit the moon on the Artemis 2 mission.
To stand out in NASA’s competitive application process, Mr. Glover knew he needed more than just a stellar resume. He especially wanted to tell a good joke.
The night before Mr. Glover was to interview at NASA for the class of 2013, he was asked to write an essay. Title: “Girls Like Astronauts.”
“They sat in this room all day long and listened to these boring answers,” he recalled. “I try to make them laugh.”
The article veers from witty to poignant, reflecting on the way he tried to inspire his four daughters. He also decided to show a vulnerable side in the interview, sharing a “silly” moment when he nearly fell overboard during an air show demonstration.
“When you come in, you have to be able to share that information with the interview panel because inevitably you’re going to fail in some way,” Ms. Jordan said. “So even if you achieve great things, you have to stay humble.”
As part of the application process, Mr Glover wrote a limerick which concluded: “It makes me dizzy because I’ve lost so much blood and piss.”
Mr. Glover has dreamed of going to outer space since he was a child, when he saw classmates in tears over the Challenger disaster.
His space ambitions were heightened a few years later when he heard a speech by former space shuttle commander Pam Melroy. Ms. Melroy, now deputy administrator of NASA, described how her team scrambled to repair damaged solar panels on the International Space Station.
“I thought, ‘Wow, she just talked about something very technical, very logistically challenging,’” Mr. Glover said. “But the emotion in it is about the people.”
Then he realized that just as astronauts needed technical skills, they also needed something harder to teach: social skills.
“You’re going to live in this tin can with someone for six months,” he said of his stay on the space station. “We’re almost picking out family members.”
Mr. Glover proudly noted the diversity of backgrounds among current astronauts. “If you compare our office to the demographics of the country, we match the country very well,” he said.
In fact, diversity within NASA exceeds in some ways the private sector. The proportion of black astronauts is higher than the proportion of black people in the broader tech workforce, Mr. Glover said.
He said this is a direct result of NASA’s decades-long efforts to recruit astronauts beyond traditional prototypes.
“Our office looks the way it does because of that intention and taking into account our bias and how it affects the people we hire,” he said. “I think that’s a huge win.”
But Glover acknowledged that diversity as a recruiting target is becoming a growing concern.
Critics include Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, the rocket company NASA relies on to transport cargo and astronauts, such as Mr. Glover, to the International Space Station. NASA also hired SpaceX to send astronauts to the moon.
“His views on some things are a little disturbing,” Glover said of Musk.
SpaceX did not respond to Musk’s request for comment.
Mr. Musk has repeatedly called for the end of programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. “DEI is just another word for racism,” he said. release in January on X, a social media network he owns.
Glover said he had just listened to a recent controversial interview with Musk by former CNN anchor Don Lemon. “My mom sent it to me and she asked me, ‘Does he remember you riding on his spaceship?'” he said. “I thought, ‘Mom, he probably remembers it very clearly.’ He’s a very intelligent man, but he probably just didn’t care.”
People ask him how he feels about next year’s Artemis 2 mission, which will orbit the moon without landing and become the first black man to land on the moon.
“Actually, I’m sad,” Mr. Glover said. “It’s 2025, will I be the first? Come on.”
He told the story of Ed Dwight, the only black Air Force pilot in the 1960s to meet NASA’s then-restrictive requirements for astronauts. But Mr. Dwight was never chosen.
“Ed Dwight could do this in the ’60s,” Mr. Glover said. “Would our country be a better place if he actually had a chance? Society is not ready. Not him. He is ready.”
While Mr. Glover has heard some pushback against DEI initiatives, he firmly believes that seeking diversity is not about lowering standards and accepting less qualified candidates. “I think it should be outstanding,” he said. “As long as you don’t equate whiteness or maleness with excellence, then we’re good. We speak the same language.”
Many applicants are attracted by the potential glory of becoming the first astronauts to land on Mars, an achievement NASA aims to achieve by the 2030s.
But Mr Glover said they should also consider the sacrifices they and their families may have to make along the way.
“The trip to Mars will take six to nine months,” he said. “You will be away from a familiar place for more than a year, one to three years. Are you really ready?
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