NASA astronaut applications are open: Requirements and deadline

NASA is accepting astronaut applications through December 3, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The recruitment round opened November 7 and is limited to U.S. citizens who meet a qualifying education route and the experience requirements for one selected discipline. The official USAJOBS vacancy is for a full-time Astronaut Candidate position at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

There are two important hurdles beyond getting accepted. The vacancy states that admission to the candidate program does not guarantee final selection as an astronaut, and becoming an astronaut does not guarantee a mission assignment. Waiting times for a flight are unknown.

Check your education and experience separately

To qualify, you need to satisfy both the basic education requirement and a specialized-experience route. A technical background alone is not the complete eligibility test.

U.S. citizenship is required. Education completed outside the United States can qualify after an equivalency evaluation, but that does not waive the citizenship condition.

The education routes

The vacancy provides several ways to meet its basic education requirement:

• A qualifying master’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics. These fall within STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• At least two academic years of doctoral study in an appropriate technical field, specified as 36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours.
• A qualifying medical or related medical degree.
• Completion of, or current enrollment in, a recognized Test Pilot School program, with completion required by July 2027. If that program is your only advanced technical qualification, you also need a qualifying STEM bachelor’s degree or higher.

The field of study matters. The vacancy excludes technology degrees such as Engineering Technology, Aviation Technology and Medical Technology, along with Aviation, Aviation Management and Exercise Physiology. It also excludes most psychology and social science degrees, including geography, anthropology and archaeology. Clinical, physiological and experimental psychology are named exceptions to the psychology exclusion.

That makes the exact qualification worth checking before you spend hours assembling an application. Similar-sounding degree titles can fall on different sides of the eligibility rules.

Choose one application discipline

Applicants must select one of seven sub-disciplines: Pilot, Flight Test, Medical, Biological and Medical Science, Physical Science, Engineering, or Operations.

For non-Pilot applicants, the listing generally calls for at least three years of progressively responsible professional experience after the qualifying degree. Some routes have additional conditions:

• Flight Test: Completion of, or enrollment in, Test Pilot School, with completion by July 2027, plus three years of related flight-test experience.
• Medical: Medical residency experience used to qualify must be completed by July 2027.
• Operations: Three years in high-consequence environments involving real-time decisions, intensive teamwork and physical risk.

Related K–12 technical teaching may count toward professional experience when the basic education requirement is also met. For readers whose teaching work also involves online course creation, Vivicz covers education products and training businesses.

You do not have to be a pilot to apply. Applicants without flight experience can qualify through another discipline if they meet its education and specialized-experience requirements.

Pilot flight-hour minimums depend on the aircraft

The Pilot route has aircraft-specific thresholds. PIC means Pilot-in-Command, so it is a different measure from total flight time.

Initial flight-training hours and unmanned-aircraft time do not count toward these requirements.

For a student pilot, the practical question is whether the qualifying hours reach one of those thresholds. Being enrolled in flight training is not enough to qualify through the Pilot discipline. A separate science, engineering, medical or operations background may offer another route, subject to that discipline’s requirements.

What the Houston job actually involves

This position is based at Johnson Space Center and is not eligible for remote work or telework. The vacancy lists required travel at 76% or more. That is a substantial commitment even before considering a possible spaceflight.

The duties cover operations in low Earth orbit, around the Moon and beyond, but also extensive work on Earth. Astronauts help develop and test spacecraft and habitats, conduct research, maintain equipment, run simulations and support human-spaceflight programs.

Other responsibilities include robotics, aircraft and spacecraft crew duties, and extravehicular activity, or work outside a spacecraft in a spacesuit. Astronauts may also serve as CapCom, the capsule communicator who speaks with crews from Mission Control, and represent NASA at public appearances.

The posted annual salary is $164,395. USAJOBS describes that as an approximate rate based on 2026 pay schedules, to be adjusted for any increase in 2027–2028.

The screening requirements are demanding, too. Applicants under final consideration face medical and psychiatric examinations, security and background checks, and drug screening. The posting also lists physical fitness and swimming tests, plus willingness to train underwater and in spacesuit simulations.

Prepare the application package

The vacancy calls for a detailed application, including a long-form résumé or CV. Before submitting, assemble the documents that support the education and experience route you have selected:

• A long-form résumé or CV.
• The online application and questionnaire.
• All relevant STEM academic transcripts.
• A Pilot Qualifications Form when required for your application.
• Five references through the questionnaire when applicable.

Applicant-submitted recommendation letters are not required and will not be reviewed. The references requested through the questionnaire are the relevant part of that process.

Some applicants may also have to complete USA Hire assessments. The listing recommends setting aside at least 2.5 hours. If an assessment link is issued after the application closes, the stated completion window is 48 hours.

Allow time for both the paperwork and any assessment. The application package has a fixed closing deadline, while a subsequently issued assessment can have its own completion window.

Training comes before a possible mission

Selected candidates are expected to undergo approximately two years of training and evaluation. Their initial appointments are time-limited to 30 months; successful completion of candidate training leads to permanent employment.

NASA reported 32 active astronauts in its November 7 announcement. In the previous recruitment round, opened in 2024, the agency received more than 8,000 applications and selected 10 candidates in 2025. Those figures give a sense of the competition without predicting the outcome of this round.

NASA says the new class could take part in Artemis lunar-surface exploration, live and work at a future Moon Base, and help develop systems and operations for eventual crewed Mars missions. The recruitment fits the broader effort described in NeoTeo’s earlier coverage of NASA’s future Moon Base plan.

“Those missions will demand technical excellence, sound judgment, teamwork, and courage.” — Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator

NASA anticipates announcing the new class in fall 2027, with final selection expected late that year. USAJOBS anticipates selected candidates reporting for duty at Johnson Space Center in winter 2027–2028.