How much do astronauts get paid?

The pay grades for civilian astronaut candidates are set by federal government pay scales and vary based on academic achievements and experience. According to NASA , civilian astronaut salaries range from $104,898 to $161,141 per year.

Who is the highest paid astronaut ever?

Neil Armstrong's Salary

At the time of the Apollo 11 flight in 1969, Neil Armstrong was paid a salary of $27,401 and was the highest paid of the flying astronauts, according to the Boston Herald. That translates to $190,684 in 2019 dollars.

How much do astronauts get paid per hour in space?

How much does a NASA Astronaut make? As of Apr 6, 2023, the average annual pay for a NASA Astronaut in the United States is $93,214 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $44.81 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,792/week or $7,767/month.

How much did Neil Armstrong get paid?

In addition, he was handsome and photogenic, which made him a natural choice for the media. For these reasons, Armstrong was paid $27,401, or $190,684 in today's dollars, for his role in the Apollo 11 mission—a significant sum at the time but a bargain compared to what he could have earned today.

How much do SpaceX astronauts get paid?

The estimated total pay for a Astronaut at SpaceX is $142,295 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated base pay is $112,628 per year.

Scariest Things Said By NASA Astronauts

Who is the lowest paid person at SpaceX?

Average SpaceX hourly pay ranges from approximately $13.45 per hour for Inventory Analyst to $35.82 per hour for Manufacturing Specialist. The average SpaceX salary ranges from approximately $21,004 per year for Social Worker to $161,339 per year for Principal Software Engineer.

Do astronauts pay taxes?

The US taxes based on citizenship, meaning that all Americans have to file US taxes, regardless of whether they are in the US or not, or even if they're 'off-planet'. When they file, Americans must report all of their global (/galactic) income.

How much did Apollo 13 astronauts get paid?

But that wasn't reflected in their pay. Depending on their seniority, Apollo astronauts earned somewhere between $17,000 and $20,000 a year. It's equivalent to $120,000 (£96,200) today and comparable with 21st Century astronaut salaries. The TV anchors covering the mission would have earned far more.

How much was Buzz Aldrin paid?

'Collins and Aldrin were both active duty lieutenant colonels in the US Air Force, and made the equivalent of about $140,000 a year in current dollars. ' Burns concludes; 'They did file travel claims once they got back to Houston, for $33.31 in per diem.

What is the highest paid job?

The jobs with the highest average pay in the United States are all in medicine. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs that receive wages equal to or greater than $208,000 per year on average in alphabetical order. It's important to note that these are average wages.

How much is 1 day in space on Earth?

On Earth, a sidereal day is almost exactly 23 hours and 56 minutes.

How much is 1 minute in space?

How far do you think light travels in a minute? To figure this out, multiply the distance that light travels in a second by 60 because there are 60 seconds in a minute. So light can travel 18,000,000 kilometers in one minute!

Do astronauts families get paid?

He said parents, children and spouses were all compensated and astronauts with doctoral degrees received a bit more than those who held master's degrees. "It wasn't a lot of money. A few million (dollars) isn't much," he said. "We had to prove our loved ones were worth something."

Is astronaut a rare job?

For a qualified person with several years of learning and training, the chances of becoming an astronaut in NASA is less than 0.17 per cent and in the European Space Station (ESA) is between 0.6 per cent and 4 per cent.

What is the high limit to be an astronaut?

4) Be tall

To be a commander or pilot astronaut, you need to be 158 to 190cm tall, NASA says. To be a mission specialist, however, there a little more leeway – “between 58.5 and 76 inches” which is 149 to 193cm. A commander is responsible for the mission's success, the safety of the crew and shuttle itself.

How hard is it to become an astronaut?

On top of the six years of schooling and two years of professional experience, astronauts must complete two years of mandatory basic training. All of this adds up to about a decade of preparation. After that, astronauts may need to wait months or years before they can even embark on their first space mission.

How do astronauts take showers?

The astronauts wipe their body clean by using a wet towel, and wash their hair by using waterless shampoo. Since water does not flow in a zero-gravity environment, the astronauts cannot wash their hands under a faucet as you do on Earth. So, there are no sinks or showers inside the space shuttle.

What degree do you need to be an astronaut?

Today, to be considered for an astronaut position, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Be a U.S. citizen. Possess a master's degree* in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, from an accredited institution.

How much is a trip to Mars?

In the past, Mr Musk has estimated that a ticket to Mars on a SpaceX flight would cost between $100,000 and $500,00.

How much fuel do you need to get to the moon?

Now for a bit of history: for the 1967 Apollo mission to the moon, Saturn V rocket's first stage carried 203,400 gallons of kerosene fuel and 318,000 gallons of liquid oxygen needed for, totaling over 500,000 gallons of fuel for getting out of the atmosphere alone.

How much would it cost to go to Mars?

Transportation costs alone could total over $100 billion before the first Mars mission in 2035. A ballpark cost of the first Mars mission in 2035 would total $230 billion. Second and subsequent missions, occurring at three-year intervals, would cost about $142 billion each including SLS and Orion costs.

Do astronauts get life insurance?

The ability of astronauts to obtain much life insurance was limited, so they signed hundreds of postal covers before they left, on the presumption that they would become highly valuable in the event of their death.

What benefits do astronauts get?

Is an astronaut a full time job?

They typically work around 40 hours per week on Earth and space missions are intensive and demanding, and could last from six months to a year. The first British astronaut was Helen Sharman, who joined the UK/Soviet joint mission, Juno.