Applications open March 31, and women are encouraged to apply as the agency “seeks to expand gender diversity in our ranks,” said a statement from the ESA released Monday.
“To go further than ever before, we need to look broader than ever before,” ESA Director General Jan Wörner said in the statement.
“This recruitment process is the first step and I look forward to seeing the agency develop with our international partners in all areas of space exploration and innovation in the coming years.”
According to David Parker, ESA director of human and robotics, the agency wants to receive applications from all walks of life.
“Diversity at ESA should relate not only to the origin, age, background or gender of our astronauts, but perhaps also to physical disabilities,” Parker said in the statement. “To make this dream come true, in addition to recruiting astronauts, I am launching the Parastronaut Feasibility Project – an innovation for which the time is right.”
The application period runs from March 31 to May 28 on the ESA Career website. Candidates will then go through a six-stage selection process that is expected to end in October 2022, the statement said.
The agency requires a university degree, or equivalent, in natural sciences, engineering or medicine, and prefers candidates with at least three years of professional experience in a related field.
Candidates must be in good physical health and should preferably be between the ages of 27 and 37, according to the website.
In October, ESA signed a partnership agreement with NASA to enable sustainable exploration of the moon.
The two agencies will work together on the Artemis Gateway outpost on the moon, which will act as a stopover for astronauts traveling from Earth before reaching the moon’s surface.
CNN’s Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.