NASA has a new job listing, and it's no joke. The US space agency is looking for a "joker" to join their planned mission to Mars.
A mission to Mars is no laughing matter. On average, the red planet is 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) away from Earth. A trip there would take around eight months in a small spacecraft. And Mars has a communications delay of 20 minutes. This means that astronauts will have to wait 20 minutes for a reply, when an emergency happens.
"When you're living with othersin a confined spacefor a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, problems are likely to occur," Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida, told The Guardian.
This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor. "These are people that have the ability to pull everyone together," Johnson said.
In stressful situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren't alone. By laughing together, we share our stress. Then we can focus on our jobs instead of just worrying.
There are other examples of team "clowns". One example is the journey to the South Pole led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It was a difficult journey full of danger. Adolf Lindstrom, a cook at Amundsen's team, was a "clown". He made people laugh through the whole journey. Amundsen later wrote that Lindstrom was the most valuable member of the team.
But if you're hoping that your favorite TV comedian will fly to Mars, that probably won't happen.
"Being funny won't be enough to land somebody the job," Johnson said. "They also need to be an excellent engineer."
Besides, they must be in top physical condition.
