NASA Advertises Job to Isolate on Fake Mars for 8 Months

Based on the current COVID-19 situation, I daresay that many of us are starting to feel like self-isolation experts. On the plus side though, this could potentially lead to a new and exciting career with NASA!

Following a post on their official website, NASA is actively advertising vacancies for a job in which they’re looking to put people in an 8-month long ‘virtual’ Mars isolation!

NASA Wants You! (Maybe)

Set to be conducted in Russia next year, the experiment is looking to build on prior research by placing candidates in ‘self-isolation’ for a period of 8-months. This will, incidentally, be interspersed with time with at least 5 other people in this self-isolating experience. The main crux of the experiment, however, is so NASA can look to monitor the physical and psychological effects of us, potentially, one day living on Mars with (probably) no neighbors for several thousands of miles.

The official description reads:

“Developing safeguards for the effects of spaceflight often requires human subjects to support data collection. Researchers want human subjects to be as close to “astronaut-like” as possible. In general they look for healthy, non-smoking volunteers, age 30 to 55. Subjects must pass a physical and psychological assessment to qualify.”

Where Can I Apply?

So, are you ready for your new job at NASA? Well, before you go polishing off your CV, there are a few conditions that the applicants will have to meet. These include:

• Must be American (well… that already rules me out)
• Aged 30 to 55 years
• Successful completion of a modified U.S. Air Force Class III Physical, dental and oral examination, and psychological screening
• Willingness to be confined and isolated for extended periods of time 
• English and Russian verbal and written proficiency
• Technical skills demonstrated through an advanced educational degree, professional experience or completion of military officer training
• Additional selection criteria may be required to meet mission requirements.

If you do, however, think you have the skill set necessary, you can check out the official job listing (and how to submit your application) via the link here!

What do you think? Would you like to get involved in this? How do you think you’d cope with the self-isolation? – Let us know in the comments!