I wrote a library blog about NASA on February 12, 2020. It was titled Help Wanted! Obviously the world has changed greatly since that day. For most people, going to the moon and beyond is not of national interest now. Nevertheless, I was curious to see how NASA was handling the applications. The application process opened on March 2, 2020 and closed on March 31, 2020. This undertaking of potential candidates has been more stringent than past employment postings. Education levels were extended and the time frame to apply was shortened. The good news is that over 12,000 candidates applied. NASA is expected to announce the new crop of space explorers in the near future. Here is some advice that current astronauts shared with potential astronauts.
Currently, life on Earth may look bleak, but the technology produced by scientist working on space projects has been impressive. Perhaps some of this future technology could help alleviate the problem of pandemics here on Earth.