Imagine yourself being dressed up in a white spacesuit and working in a space station, wearing a huge protected helmet and lots of slick modern tools attached to it — A proper astronaut. How cool is it, no? Whenever you watch such pictures or videos of astronauts, the dream of becoming an astronaut ignites inside a little. Have you ever wondered what does it take to become an astronaut?
Well, the dream might be wildest, but it is well achievable if you start laying the foundation early, with proper hard work and dedication. We’re here to guide you on how to kickstart the process. Who knows, you could end up becoming a NASA certified astronaut, waving your hands from the moon.
Do A Thorough Research
Becoming an astronaut and leaving your footprints on the moon is not easy. Sure, you need to start from scratch to reach out to the glory. In the age of the internet, when all information is at your fingertips, you should perform complete research regarding the job duties and responsibilities it entails, the skill-set it requires, the working hour, range of salaries, and most importantly, the qualifications. Now let’s see how things look like.
Know Your Job Well
You can apply for four special designations, i.e., commander astronaut, pilot astronaut, mission specialist, and payload specialist. Commanders should be the highest of them all. A commander astronaut should be in charge of the entire crew to help them adhere to mission objectives and overall safety. In short, the guy should lead his team to success. Pilot astronauts operate the entire space shuttles, satellite deployment, and help with onboard experiments. While Mission specialists may have to perform spacewalks to fix some issues, a payload specialist is a non-astronaut who fixes minor technical glitches.
Understand the Required Skill Set
Like many other tasks, in astronauts, skills like teamwork, intelligence, communication, and leadership are crucial. Intelligence is highly essential and, of course, a deciding factor for the success of the entire mission. The astronauts’ team must work together to communicate with the operators on earth to meet the mission’s objectives.
Ready for the Prolonged Working hours
Talking about the working hours, it won’t be the same as mainstream jobs. Being in the spacecraft 24/7, doing spacewalks, and other technical works are tiresome. You have to work out regularly, maintaining a completely different diet, that too, without your friends and family. Of course, your pay will differ accordingly. From GS-11 to GS-14 different Federal Government pay scales are available. GS-11 begins at $66,026 annually that can go up to $144,566 per year with GS-14. In the UK, the salary ranges are different from the US.
Are You Qualified Enough?
The candidates’ minimum qualification should be a bachelor’s degree in physical science, mathematics, computer science, engineering, or biological science. Additionally, candidates must adhere to a few strict eligibility requirements.
Candidates should be citizens of the USA who can speak fluent English and are strong swimmers. The ideal height should be between 5 ft to 6.3 ft. A minimum of three hours of pilot-in-command on Jet aircraft is mandatory or three years of related professional experience. The physical examinations are rigorous, so applicants must be prepared to pass those to obtain the fitness certificate. However, candidates who have any psychological disorders will not be eligible to work with NASA even if they clear other criteria.
Road to NASA
It’s not that very few people across the country apply for lucrative positions. Due to its highly desired position, the number of applicants is huge, albeit the vacancies are limited. Once you are selected and pass the necessary examinations, you will receive the special training program for two years. There you’ll learn every technical aspect as well as necessary survival strategies. Selected candidates will work at NASA before their selection for a flight.
To become an astronaut is certainly not any average easy-peasy job. It would help if you started your preparation accordingly. As mentioned earlier, laying a solid foundation is highly essential. The job is not for the faint-hearted. Instead, you have to go through rigorous screening processes to land the job. Once you’re off to space, you can give your family and country a reason to be proud of. Therefore, start your planning today so that you can do the moonwalk on the moon, not on the earth!