Not only that, but it's in Canadian dollars.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) recently launched its fourth astronaut recruitment campaign.

At the end of this recruitment campaign, two new Canadian astronauts will begin their training in the 2017 NASA astronaut class in Houston, Texas.

Do you have a university degree in science, engineering or medicine? Do you have at least three years of relevant professional experience, or are you licenced to practise medicine in Canada? Are you resourceful, determined, and cool, calm and collected? If so, you may be what the CSA is looking for!

- Canadian Space Agency astronaut recruitment site

Given that today is the anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first step onto the surface of the Moon, it seems appropriate to announce that Canada is looking to hire a couple of astronauts.

Be an Astronaut! Apply by 15 Aug or miss your chance to boldly go! https://t.co/0r43aIxv2n@WilliamShatner @csa_aschttps://t.co/spgOYxTn1D

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) July 20, 2016

(My apologies, apparently they've been looking for applicants since June, and I missed Commander Hadfield's first Tweet on the subject.)

The Canadian Space Agency web site contains all the basic information that you might want before deciding to apply: qualifications, duties of an astronaut, selection process (it takes about a year to complete all the stages of recruitment) and, of course, the online application form.

Surprisingly, it's not the highest paying job in the world.  Novice cosmonauts start at $91K, with a potential  boost to $178K* after successfully completing a mission in space.  Considering the list of prerequisites and qualifications - and the fact that there's a certain amount of risk involved -  this doesn't seem like a lot of money.  On the other hand, there are some perks that come with the job:  just look at the view from your office...

I have to give the CSA full points for putting together a clever and well-thought-out promotional campaign.  This is just another reason that I think Canada is such a great country - it's difficult to imagine the United States government doing anything quite as casually smart and funny.

It's also a bit surprising to me that it's such an open invitation.  Admittedly, most people wouldn't match the list of qualifications, but that list isn't ridiculous or undoable. As pointed out in the introductory quotation, this is only the fourth time that the CSA has gone looking for astronauts, but it won't be the last.  If you're reading this in the same year it was posted, you've probably got about ten years to get ready for the next time - good luck!

- Sid

* To be completely accurate, $178,400.  I suspect this is a governmental pay grade thing - if it was up to me I would round it up to at least the nearest six figure digit.