NASA is hiring astronauts for startling pay as recruits warned of ‘excessive loneliness’

NASA is hunting for new astronauts on a surprisingly modest salary, warning that recruits must brave brutal training, no danger pay and extreme loneliness

If you have ever fancied strapping yourself to a rocket, floating in zero gravity and planting your boots on the lunar surface, NASA wants you. The American space agency has launched a recruitment drive to find the next generation of space travellers.

Successful applicants will get the chance to “help write the next chapter of human spaceflight” and “join NASA as America returns to the Moon, builds the Moon base, and lays the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars.”

However, while the job description sounds pretty exciting, the paycheque is surprisingly down-to-earth. New recruits will earn $164,395 a year (around £123,000).

While that easily beats the typical office gig, it may strikes you as a measly reward for a role that involves hurtling through the vacuum of space inside a pressurised metal tube.

Space veteran Nicole Stott, a retired astronaut and engineer who notched up three months on the International Space Station in 2009 and became only the tenth woman in history to complete a spacewalk, previously lifted the lid on the reality of the pay packet.

Speaking to LADbible, she described the wage as: “Not a lot.” She added: “You don’t become an astronaut to get paid a lot of money.”

Unlike Premier League footballers or corporate titans, astronauts do not sign mega-money contracts. Because they are classified as US civil servants, their earnings are strictly tethered to rigid federal pay scales.

There are no overtime payments and no hazard bonuses for putting your life on the line. Whether you are typing up spreadsheets in an office or floating outside the ISS with only a visor between you and the void, the government pays standard grade wages.

To make matters tougher, the entry requirements are brutal. Hopefuls need US citizenship, a STEM master’s degree, three years of professional experience and five glowing references.

Once hired, candidates face two intense years of preparation at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Recruits will spend hundreds of hours mastering spacewalks, wrestling robotic arms, enduring microgravity and piloting supersonic T-38 jets.

In orbit, the daily grind involves conducting intricate lab experiments, snapping orbital photography, running maintenance, and offloading cargo capsules ferrying food and supplies from Earth.

Then there is the mental toll. NASA pulls no punches in warning hopefuls that deep-space assignments lasting a year or more come with “extreme isolation, austere living conditions and separation from loved ones.”

However, the lack of danger money and years of gruelling solitude do little to deter starry-eyed dreamers. During a previous recruitment drive in 2024, more than 8,000 hopefuls battled it out for just ten coveted slots.

Unveiling the latest search on X under the banner “The Universe Is Calling”, NASA deputy administrator Matt Anderson said: “The window is open. The mission is waiting. And the only thing missing from the greatest adventure humanity has ever embarked upon is you.”

Scott Tingle, chief astronaut and chair of the selection board, added: “For those who apply, becoming a NASA astronaut is more than a career opportunity. It is a chance to join a legacy of explorers who have pushed the boundaries of discovery and play a role in the missions that will shape humanity’s future in space.”

Applicants have until 11.59pm EST on December 3 to throw their helmets into the ring.