Astronaut in space
Astronaut Ed White floats in the microgravity of space fifty years ago during the first U.S. spacewalk outside the Gemini IV spacecraft in this NASA picture taken June 3, 1965. In his left hand is a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit with which he controls his movements in space. Reuters

Engineers bored with their regular jobs have a new exciting opportunity ahead of them. In preparation of their journey to Mars, NASA is now looking to hire the next generation of astronauts to mark a return of the human spaceflight launch to the United States.

The agency will start to accept applications for the prospective job opportunity at its premises from Dec. 14 through to mid-February. The entire candidate selection procedure is expected to be completed by 2017. Interested candidates have been urged to apply to the agency through the USA JOBS portal.

Selected candidates will carry out deep-space exploration missions with the help of America-made commercial spacecraft that will launch, once again, from the Space Coast of Florida. With the human spacecraft development reaching its peak within the country, the exploration mission using one of these spacecrafts is expected to advance a future human mission to Mars.

“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,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, in a statement. “Those selected for this service will fly in U.S. made spacecraft from American soil, advance critical science and research aboard the International Space Station, and help push the boundaries of technology in the proving ground of deep space.”

NASA picks up the prospective candidates from a diverse pool of U.S. citizens. A qualified astronaut as per NASA's requirement could be a scientist, an engineer, a doctor or a pilot.

According to NASA's press release, the next generation of astronauts selected by the agency may get an opportunity to fly in any one of the four U.S. vessels: Orion deep space exploration vehicle, the International Space Station or the two commercial crew spacecraft currently being developed in the U.S.

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