Last year start-up website called "Fatherly" conducted a nationwide survey that aims to discover what children want to be when they grow up. Five hundred children from 1 to 10 years old were involved in the study and out of the lot more than 35% of the kids would like to be involved in a profession in science, technology, engineering or math field.
Based on the research, to become an astronaut ranks fifth in modern children's dream jobs. However the desire to explore space seems to be universal at least given this year's overwhelming number of NASA astronaut applications.
Last December, NASA announced their intention to accept applications for men and women who would like to be part of NASA's current and upcoming projects including the journey to Mars.
"NASA is on an ambitious journey to Mars and we're looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to help get us there," quipped Charles Bolden, a former astronaut and NASA's current administrator.
The call for applications closed last week in February 18,2016 and according to the space agency never have they seen the same enthusiasm for space research. More than 18,300 people sent their resumes in the span of two months. This by far is the largest number of applicants which has since surpassed the previous record of 8,000 in 1978.
NASA has since spoken out about the successful turn out and according to them the reception is welcome albeit unsurprising.
"It's not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars," gushed Bolden.
The applications would be reviewed in the next 18 months. Out of the 18,300 applicant only 8-14 individuals would have the opportunity to become an astronaut. NASA is hopeful that they would be able to announce the results by 2017.