NASA hiring astronauts

Here's one way the government is creating jobs: NASA is hiring astronauts.

They have even posted the position via one of the country's largest job clearinghouses and are accepting applications and resumes online.

If you are thinking of polishing up your curriculum vitae and applying, here are some things to keep in mind:

• To be considered for the job, you must have at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited university in engineering, math, physical science or biological science.
• Applicants need to have at least three years of professional experience or 1,000 hours of in-command flight time as a jet pilot. Advances degrees come into play here – a master's degree will count as one year of experience and a doctoral degree will count as three.
• You must have perfect vision or you must be able to achieve perfect vision with corrective lenses.
• Your blood pressure must be under 140/90.
• You must be between 62 and 75 inches tall.
• Frequent travel may be required.

Another qualification : You must speak, or be willing to learn, Russian. That's because all slated space flights will be on the Soyuz, a Russian vessel transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.

According to information from NASA , the astronauts hired today will be part of a new generation of space travelers. Not only will they continue work on the ISS, they will "help to build and fly a new NASA vehicle, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) designed for human deep space exploration; and further NASA's efforts to partner with industry to provide a commercial capability for space transportation to the space station."

Sound like a challenge you're up for?

You can apply online at www.USAJOBS.gov . But don't expect to hear back right away; NASA said selections won't be announced until spring of 2013.