NASA is hiring astronauts to go to the moon and Mars. The agency's selection manager says she looks for these 5 qualities in candidates.

• NASA is taking applications for new astronaut candidates through 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31.
• During last year's selection process, NASA picked less than 1 in 1,500 applicants for the job.
• Anne Roemer, the agency's astronaut selection manager, and new astronaut Jessica Watkins offered Business Insider advice to would-be applicants.
• The two say it's important to have excellent people skills, provide more information rather than less on your resume, be yourself, show your unique hobbies and interests, and - vitally - to "take the leap" to apply.
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Think you have what it takes to be a NASA astronaut?

You're in luck, because the space agency is accepting new applications until the end of the month.

The chance to become an astronaut is an uncommon and incredible opportunity. Nearly five years have passed since NASA last opened the door to new recruits to its corps, and new candidates can make between $104,898 to $161,141 per year while training to travel to the moon and Mars. More imminently, the next class of astronauts will be among the first people to ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial spaceships into orbit.

The window for applications opened on March 2 and closes after 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 31, according to NASA. After an exhaustive application review and interview process, NASA expects to announce its newest class of candidates in summer 2021.

Beyond meeting an extensive list of impressive qualifications, though - such as an advanced education and years of relevant work or flight experience - NASA looks for very specific qualities and skills in its top tier of astronaut hopefuls, and red flags in those applicants it rejects.

To find out what helps a candidate make the cut, and mistakes that disqualify them, Business Insider spoke to Anne Roemer, NASA's astronaut selection manager, and Jessica Watkins, who was selected as a candidate in 2017 and recently graduated.