Do you want to become an astronaut? NASA reveals the criteria

To the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” more than half of the children there after the age of 9 would answer “astronaut». Space travel and the panoramic view of the Earth will always be a favorite topic for young and old. In fact, none of us have ever wondered what one practically needs to travel in space. Apart from money since space tourism is on the rise now.

What qualifications must one have to become an astronaut? It’s difficult, it takes a lot of effort and now, the NASA reveals the basic criteria by which it selects candidates. So if the next ad comes out you know what to do.

But what does an astronaut do?

Before we get to the resume and skills let’s look at what an astronaut does in practice. His duties have a wide range, from research on the International Space Station (ISS) until the crew of a real spacecraft.

NASA astronauts participate in experiments concerning, inter alia, the human body, life in space as well as research against diseases such as cancer. Alongside, make efforts and prepare hard for journeys that humanity has so far only imagined.

Such as a journey to the dark side of the Moon or a trip to Mars.

Qualifications to become an astronaut at NASA

To become an astronaut, you must first to be an American citizen. It needs to have postgraduate degree in a STEM field from a recognized educational institution. The degrees required are usually related to biology, physics, mathematics, programming or engineering.

In addition, they must have at least two years of service in a relevant fieldafter obtaining the degree, or to have “at least 10,000 hours of experience as an aircraft pilot».

One of the most basic pieces of NASA requirements is the candidate to be able to pass the difficult physical tests.

At the personality level, NASA is looking for social workers with leadership skills and team spirit.

NASA’s Astronaut Selection Committee examines applications (a record 18,300 applications in 2016) and evaluates each candidate’s qualifications. The board then invites a small group of highly qualified candidates for interviews at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Of the respondents, about half are invited to return for a second interview. From this team, the new candidate NASA astronauts are selected. They report on training in Johnson and spend the next two years learning basic astronaut skills such as space walking, space station handling, T-38 flight and robotic arm control.

With NASA’s plans for the future of exploration, young astronauts will fly farther into space than ever before on lunar missions and may be the first humans to fly to Mars.