9/2/2015 WhatDoesItTakeToBeAnAstronaut?YahooNewsIndia

https://in.news.yahoo.com/doesastronaut202714827.html 1/3

WhatDoesItTakeToBeAnAstronaut?Onlythebestofthebestgetachancetotraveltospace.Doyouhavewhatittakes?

YahooNews14hoursago

Travellingintospaceandexploringnewworldsisdependentonthesurvivalofexplorersandtheirabilitytoadapttonewsurroundingsso,whatdoesittaketobeanastronaut?

Officialrequirements

Beforetheyevengetstartedontraining,astronautshavetomeetasetofstringentrequirementssetoutbyNASA.

NotonlymusttheyhaveaBachelorsdegreeineitherengineering,biologicalscience,physicalscience,ormaths,theymustalsohavethreeyearsofprogressivelyresponsibleworkexperienceinarelatedfield.Alternatively,amastersdegreewilldoinsteadofworkexperience.

Astronautapplicantsalsoneedtopassalongdurationspaceflightphysicalwhichincludeshaving20/20visionandbloodpressurebelow140/90inasittingposition.Theymustalsobebetween51and62tall.

Andforanyonehopingtopilotaspacecraft,theyllberequiredtohaveatleast1,000hoursofflyinghoursinchargeofajetundertheirbelt,preferablyasatestpilot.

Onceapplicationshavebeenscreened,themostsuitablecandidatesmustundergoaweeklongprocessofpersonalinterviewsplusfurthermedicalscreeningtoruleoutanyunderlyingproblems.

Onceselected,theluckyastronautsareassignedtotheAstronautofficeatJohnsonSpaceCenterinHouston,Texas,wheretheygothroughatwoyeartrainingandevaluationperiodincludinganearlyswimmingtest.

Thetestrequireswouldbeastrostoswim3lengthsofa25metrepoolwithoutstopping,thenswim3lengthsinaflightsuitandtennisshoeswithnotimelimit,andalsotreadwatercontinuouslyfor10minuteswhilewearingaflightsuit.

Duringtheevaluation,candidatesarealsotrainedinScubadiving,andexposedtoproblemsassociatedwithhighandlowpressuresinanaltitudechambertolearnhowtodealwiththeseconditions.Theyalsogettoexperiencethemicrogravityofspaceflightduringflightsinamodifiedplanethatproducesperiodsofweightlessnessbyflyinginparabolicarcs.

Astronautsundergoextensivetrainingbeforebeingassignedtoamission,andadditionaltrainingoncetheyareassignedtoaspecificmission,explainsRachelKraft,aspokespersonfromNASAsJohnsonSpaceCenter,whereastronautsworkandtrain.

Astronautsarerequiredtohaveadetailedknowledgeofspaceflightsystems,aswellastheoperationalcharacteristics,missionrequirementsandobjectives,andsupportingsystemsandequipmentforeachexperimentontheirassignedmissions.

Training

9/2/2015 WhatDoesItTakeToBeAnAstronaut?YahooNewsIndia

https://in.news.yahoo.com/doesastronaut202714827.html 2/3

Theenormoussetofskillsthatastronautshavetolearnbeforeamissionincludesphotography,learningRussian,basicsurgery,plumbingandofcourse,socialmediatraining.

Alongwiththeskillsthattheastronautswillneedtosurvive,fromputtingonaspacesuittodockingwiththeISS,thecrewmembersalsohavetopracticeanymissionspecificprocedures.

Astronautsareinvolvedinallaspectsofonorbitoperations,includingspacewalks,roboticsoperationsusingtheremotemanipulatorsystem,experimentoperations,andonboardmaintenancetasksandmustbetrainedforthesetasks,saysKraft.

AstronautstraintogetherinNASAsNeutralBuoyancyLaboratorypool,whichsimulatesthefeelingofmicrogravityandincludesfullsizemockupsoftheISS.

Theyalsocarryoutimportantsurvivaltrainingtopreparethemforanoffcourselandingwhichcouldleadtothembeingstrandedinthewildernessfordaysbeforetherescueteamturnsup.

Teamwork

Thevastmajorityofastronauttrainingiscompletedalongsidecrewmembers,notonlysothateveryoneknowswhattheyredoingwhentheygettospace,butsothattheyknowwhateveryoneelseisdoing.

Everypossibleeventualityissimulatedorsimmedrepeatedlyuntileachmemberofthecrewisabletocarryouttheirresponseflawlessly.Thisteamworkiskeytothesurvivalofthegroups.

Ifthingsaregoingbadlyonboardaspaceship,itsnottheastronautsroletohideunderatablebuttotakeactionandmakethingsbetter.Nooneelsecan.ThatswhyourtrainingtakessolongexplainsCanadianastronautChrisHadfield.

Everyastronautbringsstrongqualitiestotheastronautcorps.EverycrewmemberundertakingamissionfarfromEarthmustbeabletoworkwellwithothersandendurebeingawayfromhomeforalongtime,saysKraft.

Kraftreiterates:Teamworkisanessentialpartofanymission.Crewmembersmustworktogetherandinteractwellwitha

9/2/2015 WhatDoesItTakeToBeAnAstronaut?YahooNewsIndia

https://in.news.yahoo.com/doesastronaut202714827.html 3/3

largeteamonthegroundtomakeamissionasuccess.

Roles

OncurrentflightstotheISSontheRussianSoyuz,thereisalwaysacommanderonboard,alongwithtwoFlightEngineerswhiletheOrionspacecraft,whichwillbeusedbyNASAforfutureflightstoMarsandbeyond,cancarryanextraflightengineer.

TheISSalsohasaCommanderwhotakesresponsibilityforthemissioninhandaswellasthesafetyandsmoothrunningofthespacestation.TheCommanderisinchargeofthefiveremainingcrewmembersalldesignatedFlightEngineers.

OneoftheFlightEngineersoneachISSmissionalsohasthetitleofScienceOfficer,puttingtheminchangeofallthescientificexperimentsonboard.

Inthepast,astronautrolesweremoreclearlydefinedtoincludepositionslikePilot,MissionSpecialistandPayloadSpecialist.

Asspaceexplorationhasevolved,roleshavebecomemoretaskdrivenandvaryaccordingtoeachmission.Astronautstrainformissionstogetherwhichhelpsthemtounderstandwhatothercrewmembersaredoingonboardsothattheycanworktogethermoreeffectively.

AlsoRead