--- ---  # Want to Be an Astronaut? Now's Your Chance  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 5, 2015 4:44 PM UTC  John Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 to become the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962. John Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 to become the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962.NASA  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 5, 2015 4:44 PM UTC Start preparing your dream job application: NASA will soon be accepting applications for new astronauts. In [a press release](http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/be-an-astronaut-nasa-seeks-explorers-for-future-space-missions) Wednesday, NASA said it’s a good time to be an astronaut. “With more human spacecraft in development in the United States today than at any other time in history, future astronauts will launch once again from the Space Coast of Florida on American-made commercial spacecraft, and carry out deep-space exploration missions that will advance a future human mission to Mars,” the release read. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden echoed that Mars will be a goal for the new recruits: “This next group of American space explorers will inspire the Mars generation to reach for new heights, and help us realize the goal of putting boot prints on the Red Planet,” he said in the release. NASA will be accepting applications between Dec. 14 and mid-February. NASA Is Hiring New Astronauts ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4101591/nasa-hiring-astronauts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4101591/nasa-hiring-astronauts/"},"headline":"Want to Be an Astronaut? Now's Your Chance","datePublished":"2015-11-05T16:44:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:23:01.583Z","description":"NASA is hiring","url":"https://time.com/4101591/nasa-hiring-astronauts/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Boeing","astronauts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e238ee3bca2ed9c/69886fc3bc6cfc7e953da3e3/good-time-to-be-astronaut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e238ee3bca2ed9c/69886fc3bc6cfc7e953da3e3/good-time-to-be-astronaut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Astronaut","caption":"Astronaut","creditText":"NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4101591/nasa-hiring-astronauts/","name":"Want to Be an Astronaut? Now's Your Chance"}}]}] ```