Here’s a golden opportunity for all those who since childhood dreamt of being an astronaut. The American space agency NASA has declared that it will be accepting applications for its next batch of space travelers.

NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman said in a statement that a journey to Mars with astronauts is a renaissance. He strongly hopes that a record-breaking number of qualified Americans will surely apply to join NASA’s astronaut class of 2017.

Newman said, “The background is really important. How are people as leaders? How are they in a team? We have a really rigorous selection board”.

The agency has listed some requirements for the applicants and only those who will fulfill these requirements will be selected for further procedures. An applicant has to be an American citizen with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological and physical science or mathematics.

An applicant must have three years of relevant experience, or at least 1,000 hours piloting a jet.

Newman said part form their educational qualifications an applicant must also have operational skills. He or she must know how to make decisions, how to do work in teams. All these things are of great importance when an astronaut is in space as they have to make life and death decisions.

There have been 338 NASA astronauts ranging in age from 26 to 46. Out of 6,300 who applied for the last class, only eight were selected- four men and four women.