NASA is looking for people to travel to the Moon and Mars – and you only have to the end of March to apply

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NASA has just started accepting applications from wannabe astronauts who would like to travel to the Moon and potentially Mars.

To be chosen you just need to meet a few criteria and must apply before the end of March.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said: "America is closer than any other time in history since the Apollo program to returning astronauts to the Moon.

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"We will send the first woman and next man to the lunar South Pole by 2024, and we need more astronauts to follow suit on the Moon, and then Mars.

"We’re looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to join us in this new era of human exploration that begins with the Artemis program to the Moon.

"If you have always dreamed of being an astronaut, apply now."

The applications accepted by NASA will be the 23rd group to be chosen over the past 60 years.

NASA has been accepting candidates this way since the 1960s.

For the first time ever, NASA will require wannabe spacefarers to have a master's degree in the sciences, maths or engineering.

Previously, applicants only needed an undergraduate degree in those subjects.

NASA also demands that candidates have 20/20 vision (eyeglasses are okay) and fit into its spacecraft and spacesuits.

Successful applicants will have a chance to join NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land man (and woman) on the Moon as early as 2024.

They may end up living and working on the International Space Station where they'll be asked to conduct important experiments.

Applications for Nasa's 2021 class of astronauts opened on March 2 and close March 31. Submissions will be accepted through the USAJobs website.

The U.S. space agency is expected to select its final astronaut candidates by mid-2021.

NASA was sent so many CVs during its last recruitment drive – more than 18,000 applied for the 2017 class – that it's made some changes this time around.

As well as upping its educational requirements, the space agency now asks candidates to complete a two-hour online screening before submitting applications.

This test will filter out grossly unsuitable candidates in a bid to give NASA's hiring team a bit less of a headache.

As with previous classes, applicants must be United States citizens and pass a tricky physical test before they're accepted.

You'll also need at least two years of related professional experience or 1,000 hours logged piloting a jet aircraft.

This story originally appeared on The Sun.