LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- It may have taken the `` right stuff '' -- a macho blend of youthful bravado and reckless adrenaline -- to get the first people into space , but if you want to be an astronaut today , be warned , it 's no longer a young man 's game . ESA 's Columbus lab is attached to the International Space Station . `` Forty five is the best astronaut age , '' says Gerhard Thiele , an experienced spaceman who , as flight operations chief for Europe 's answer to NASA , now commands a team with an average age of 50 . You would n't know it to look at the fresh-faced applicants who turned out at the launch of an European Space Agency recruitment drive in London on Thursday , but age is clearly an issue for would-be astronauts among the thousands ESA hopes to attract . While successful candidates are expected to visit the International Space Station in the near future -- spending up to six weightless months cruising above Earth 's atmosphere in ESA 's new Columbus lab -- they wo n't fulfill the ultimate goal of visiting the moon , and eventually Mars , until much later in their careers . `` Let 's make the assumption that humans will be walking on the moon in the 2020s , if you look at the age of the applicants -- let 's start with 35 -- in 10 years from now they are aged 45 , which is the best astronaut age , '' elaborates Thiele , still pushing the final frontier himself at the age of 54 . And while you did n't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to join the original space missions ( the U.S. Mercury and Apollo programs recruited many test pilots ) , if you want to stand a chance against other heavily-qualified applicants , it 's certainly an advantage . `` I already have a masters degree in physics and astrophysics a PhD in astronomy , I 'm a scuba diver , I speak basic beginner 's to advanced Russian , and I have flying experience , '' one hopeful , Tracy Parker , tells CNN . ESA expects up to 50,000 people to apply to become one of its new astronauts when online applications go live on May 19 . A rigorous battery of medical , psychological and physical tests is expected to whittle these down to a final 40 . Even to make it to the prodding and poking stage , candidates will have had to brandish qualifications including , says ESA : `` A university degree in natural sciences , engineering or medicine , and preferable at least three years of related postgraduate professional experience , or flying experience as a pilot . '' For those who make the cut , the pay is good , if not exactly out of this world . Astronauts will enjoy a basic salary of at least $ 80,000 , but according to ESA human resources chief Frank Danesy , there is unlikely to be overtime for those six-month Space Station stints . `` There is no bonus for flying into space , other than flying into space itself . '' he says . Would-be astronaut Parker , who has dedicated her life to becoming an astronaut since watching the movie `` Space Camp '' at the age of 12 , insists blasting-off would be reward enough . Despite the likely stiff competition Parker , 29 , says she `` hands down '' expects to one day make it into space . `` For so long I 've looked up and seen the moon , and to actually get out there ... that 's going to be such an amazing feeling . '' ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. Would you want to be an astronaut ? Would you want your children to become astronauts ? Leave your views and comments in the Sound Off box below and we 'll publish the best .
European Space Agency will look for new technologies . Missions could include missions to moon and perhaps Mars . Astronaut chief says 45-year - olds make best spacemen .