NASA Is Hiring Astronauts to Live and Work on a Moon Base. It Pays $164,395, and You Have Until Dec. 3.

America is going back to the Moon to stay, and NASA needs people to live there.

The space agency opened applications for its next class of astronauts on Saturday, saying the new recruits will join “as America returns to the Moon, builds the Moon Base, and lays the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars.” They’ll train to “operate on the lunar surface” and “live and work beyond Earth.”

What it pays and who can apply

The official federal job posting lists the salary at $164,395 a year, based out of Johnson Space Center in Houston. No remote work, but NASA may cover your move.

You have to be a U.S. citizen with a master’s degree in a science, engineering, computer science or math field. There are other routes in: two years toward a doctorate, a medical degree such as an M.D., physician assistant or nurse practitioner, or test pilot school paired with a science or engineering bachelor’s degree.

Applications close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Dec. 3. NASA says it expects to make its final picks in late 2027.

The odds

Brutal. The last time NASA opened the doors, in 2024, more than 8,000 people applied and just 10 were chosen, five men and five women, according to Space.com. That class is still in the middle of its two-year training.

Those who make it spend about two years learning spacewalks, robotics and teamwork before they’re eligible for a flight. The job description even covers the stuff people forget: working Mission Control, testing new spacecraft and serving as “the public face of NASA.”

Why now

The call is built around the Moon Base and the Artemis program, NASA’s push to put Americans back on the lunar surface for the long haul and use it as a stepping stone to Mars. As NASA puts it, the next class will “push the boundaries of human exploration farther than ever before.”

If you’ve ever wanted the job, the window is three weeks.

— @UngaTheGreat