Need a job? SA announces vacancies in Mars

US space agency's recruiting posters beckon you to the Red Planet

Washington, June 16: US space agency SA has just released a series of retro recruitment posters that advertise potential positions it may one day need filled on Mars.

First commissioned in 2009 for an exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex, the colorful posters feature 'advertisements' for teachers, surveyors and farmers, among a raft of other occupations.

SA has started using posters like these to help people imagine what a future in space may look like. Earlier this year, the agency released a set of prints promoting space tourism. They can all be downloaded for free from the SA website.

However, it may be a while before all these people are actually needed. SA released its three-step 'Journey to Mars' plan to colonize the Red Planet in 2015, and doesn't envision having people living and working in colonies until 2030.

One of the SA posters is a modern version of the 1917 Uncle Sam: "I Want You" recruiting poster for the US Army and the "The Marines are looking for a few good men" recruiting slogan used by the U.S. Marine Corps on all recruiting materials from 1971 to 1984. In the Mars poster that most closely resembles the earlier recruiting pieces, an astrout points directly at the view with the caption "We Need You."

Other posters are for teachers, surveyors, technicians, night shift workers, explorers, and farmers, with short, glowing job descriptions for each. One of the most compelling is the poster that applies to all job categories with the caption: Some User Assembly Required. That description reads:

"Assembly required to build our future on Mars and its moons. Are you someone who can put things together, solving challenges to ensure survival? Dare to forge our future with space-age tools - build spaceships to carry us to Mars and back, and habitats to protect us while we're there."