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Showing posts from November, 2011

NASA Astronaut Candidate Application Period Opens

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If you've ever dreamed of being a NASA astronaut to live on the International Space Station and maybe one day explore a world beyond low earth orbit, now is your chance to make it happen. As expected , NASA issued a  press release earlier today officially kicking off its 2011-2012 application opportunity. All materials are due to the Astronaut Office by January 27, 2011, so I recommend wasting no time to read the Application Guide , dust off your resume, and call your references. Speaking of references, you may want to take a look at JSC Form 726 to get an idea of what kinds of questions NASA might ask them.  Applications are only accepted through  USAJOBS announcement #JS12A0001 .  See the full selection process timeline  here  or at at  astronauts.nasa.gov .  Minimum qualification requirements for 2012 applicants are the same as in 2008: Bachelor's degree in an applicable field 3 years professional experience (or a combination of equivalent education/pilot-in-comma

Mars500 Crew Returns to Earth

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Imagine giving up 520 days of your life to spend in isolation with five other people confined inside a cramped cylinder about the size of a semi trailer pretending you're on a mission to Mars. That's what the intrepid crew of the Mars500 Project just did. During the 74-weeks of their mission, which included a simulated roundtrip journey to Mars complete with a short  surface excursion , the crew carried out more than 100 experiments to assess the effects of isolation on their psychological and physiological well being. The international crew ranges from ages 27 to 38 and is comprised of three Russians (Alexey Sityev, Sukhrob Kamolov,Alexander Smoleevskiy "Siev"), two Europeans (Romain Charles of France, Diego Urbina of Italy-Colombia), and one Chinese national (Wang Yue). They "landed" on Earth at 14:00 Moscow time (10:00 GMT) today when the hatch to their sealed habitat at the  Institute of Biomedical Problems  (IMBP) was opened for the first time si