HOW TO BECOME ASTRONAUT IN NASA, ISS, and OTHER SPACE CENTERS
The human urge to explore the secrets of the universe has opened up new horizons and new
opportunities for mankind and to become an astronaut is one of these. There are mainly four countries that have settled space
stations in space and have huge space centers. Space stations of NASA
(National aeronautics and space administration) America, ISS (The international
space station) Europe, MIR (Russian space station), Russia, and Tiangong (Chinese large
modular space station) China have been dreams of many young around the world. Space
stations are the space aircraft in the orbit of earth holding a crew of humans. These space stations have become the
career dreams of many around the world. Many young boys and girls want to
become astronauts to explore life existence on Mars, or the possibility of living
amid moon craters inspire by space life stories.
Who
is an astronaut?
Humans
are studying astronomy through telescopes for centuries. Astronauts and astronomers
are observing and gathering the facts of everything beyond the earth’s surface i.e.
stars, moon, sun, and planets. Science set a milestone in the history of astronomy
& science after the launching of spacecraft. Spacecraft took the humans beyond earth. Can anyone ride spacecraft to explore
the universe? The answer may not be positive at this time as it needs special
training to cope up with space life in the spacecraft. A person that is
trained to handle the spacecraft life and involves space-related
experiments is called an astronaut. Also, astronauts work on land stations to unfold the mysteries of nature. Astronauts need to study specific subjects,
get training, and pass various tests before getting into spacecraft. Both Men and women have equal opportunities to become an astronaut.
Here is a guide that tells you which subjects
you must study to meet your dream of becoming an astronaut. What type of
training and physical fitness is required to become an astronaut?
What
qualifications/subjects anyone needs to become an astronaut?
Let’s
start from elementary or high school subject choices that are the first step to
your goal of becoming an astronaut.
Anyone
should choose Math, Physics, Chemistry, or Computer Science as elective subjects
to pass high school. After conceiving your interest in any of the above subjects,
look to get a master's degree in the relevant subject. Mostly the graduates with
engineering degrees in aerospace, aviation, a degree in biological sciences,
physical sciences, Geology, Astrophysics, Computer Science, or Mathematics are
eligible to apply for internships in any of the world space centers. Many
astronauts recommend a combination of Physics, Mathematics & Computer
science is best at high school and college to become an astronaut.
What
other than study makes me eligible to become an astronaut?
It’s
the at least 1000 hours of flying as pilot-in-command, you need to complete on
any jet aircraft before applying for any space station in the world. You’re
looking to fly in space then you must be familiar with the flying requirements before jumping into space.
How
and where I can complete these flying hours to become an astronaut?
Flying hours can be completed at any of the nearby
flying schools at your place. If you’re serious to meet your dream to become an
astronaut then join flying school along with the completion of your graduation or master's
degree. Many private and military flying schools provide complete training from flying to handling intense situations. Your
experience of flying a jet aircraft as a pilot-in-command is a must to become an
astronaut in any space station like ISS and NASA.
What type of physical fitness do I need to become an astronaut?
Astronauts
should be physically and mentally fit to bear the long-duration space flights.
The qualities of teamwork, communication, and leadership are plus points to your
destiny of becoming an astronaut.
What
if I can’t join NASA, ISS to become an astronaut?
A
million-dollar question here as NASA or ISS is an ultimate dream of every young who
want to become an astronaut but the applications for an astronaut position in
NASA are just opened for U.S. Citizens. Don’t lose hope, if you’re not an
American citizen and want to visit space as an astronaut. Anyone with a scientific approach, research-orientated background, and enthusiast to stand by
the space stations long, tough training can join other space stations.
ESA
European State Agency takes the applications to become a European astronaut
from countries associated with it. The countries associated with ESA are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Norway, Other, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The
Netherland, and United Kingdom. The European astronauts are trained and send to space
crafts under ISS that is a multinational space station.
Chinese
astronauts are called taikonauts. Only Chinese citizens are eligible to apply to
become taikonauts.
Russian astronauts are called cosmonauts. Here
again, Russian citizens can send applications to become cosmonauts.
Most of the countries don't own space stations but many Asian and African countries have their space
research centers where they conduct research and training of the astronauts with
the help of aviation and air force departments. These countries collaborate
with other countries to send their astronauts to space stations. For example, Pakistan
has planned to send its astronauts into space by 2022 with the help of China. The Russian space agency is helping India in selecting, training, medical examination, and sending Indian astronauts in space. UAE & Japan are collaborating with ISS to send their astronauts in space. Egypt, Turkey, and many other countries have space centers and space agencies working to fabricate astronauts. So better search space institutes in your country and join them to meet your destiny
to spacecraft.
Duties
of an astronaut
It’s
better to comprehend that astronauts do not only enjoy coffee, gossip, and
company while floating in spacecraft as we see in many movies but they are
indulged in many experimental and research activities there. They require working
on complex mechanisms to stay alive and well in space. To conduct experiments,
gathering facts, observing craft navigation and collaboration with other space
stations are the duties of astronauts. Before
reaching your goal as a spacecraft crew member, a lot of hard work, research, and patience are required. An astronaut should be preparing to leave land people
and family for long period.
Here are some answers from astronauts to fourth graders from Pakistan. These kids asked space-related questions on Twitter with the help of their teacher and tagged NASA and the space station. The amazing feedback they got will definitely boost your energies to become an astronaut.
