The astronauts of Artemis II made history yesterday as they completed their mission, looping around the far side of the moon and traveling further into space than any humans have before.
However, despite the groundbreaking nature of their journey, the crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch from the United States, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—won’t receive any financial windfall upon their return.
Unlike private sector jobs that might reward such extraordinary achievements with performance bonuses, overtime, or hazard pay, these astronauts return to their government salaries, which top out around $152,000 for U.S. crew members.
Canadian astronauts are paid on a similar sliding scale. For a mission that expanded the boundaries of human exploration, the astronauts’ compensation is surprisingly ordinary, comparable to mid-career professionals in desk jobs or skilled trades like electricians and HVAC technicians.
However, like other federal employees traveling for work, the astronauts receive transportation, lodging, and meals provided by NASA, as well as a small daily stipend of about $5 for incidentals, according to a NASA spokesperson.
The Tradeoff of Space Exploration: A Dream Job with Modest Pay
The reality of astronaut compensation is a tradeoff that many are willing to accept. NASA’s class of 2025, announced last September, selected just 10 candidates from over 8,000 applicants, representing an acceptance rate of roughly 0.125%.
This selection rate is far more competitive than even the most selective universities like Harvard or Stanford, demonstrating the immense prestige and challenge of joining the ranks of NASA astronauts.
The Future of Work: Space as the New Frontier
While the pay may be modest, the future of work in space is becoming increasingly real, with some of the world’s top business leaders betting on a space-based workforce. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has expressed plans to test hardware in space by 2027, hoping to build data centers in orbit to handle growing computing demands.
“There’s no doubt to me that a decade or so away we’ll be viewing it as a more normal way to build data centers,” Pichai said in December.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has even more ambitious plans. In February, he announced that SpaceX is shifting focus toward creating a self-sustaining city on the moon within the next decade, a goal he believes is more feasible than establishing a colony on Mars.
“The mission of SpaceX remains the same: Extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars,” Musk wrote on X.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has also predicted that space could soon be a place for Gen Alpha to work. He foresees that in 2035, a graduating college student could leave Earth to explore the solar system, participating in exciting, well-paid, and interesting jobs aboard spaceships.
The Road to Space-Based Work
While space-based jobs are an exciting prospect, the path to a space workforce remains uncertain. NASA’s Artemis III mission is targeting next year to test lunar landers, followed by Artemis IV in 2028, which will aim to return astronauts to the moon’s surface.
However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported that major NASA projects experience an average launch delay of 12 months.
For now, the clearest path to working in space-related industries remains on Earth. Aerospace engineers, who are critical to supporting space missions, earn an average salary of $135,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the field is expected to grow by 6% over the next decade.
