NASA has a new job listing, and it's no joke. The US space agency is looking for a "joker" to join their journey to Mars.
A journey to Mars is no laughing matter. On average, the red planet is 140 million miles away. A trip there would take around eight months in a small spaceship. As it is difficult to communicate, astronauts will have to wait 20 minutes for a reply when an emergency happens.
"When you're living with others in a confined space for a long time, such as on a mission to Mars, problems will happen," said Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida. This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor. These people have the ability to pull everyone together.
In stressful situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren't alone. By laughing together, we share stress, Then we can focus on our jobs instead of just worrying.
There are other examples of team "jokers". One example is the journey to the South Pole led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, Adolf, a cook at Amundsen's team, was "joker". He made people laugh through the whole difficult and dangerous journey, Amundsen later wrote that Adolf 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 scientist and engineer." Besides, they must be in top physical condition.
