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Guys, seriously. I have this absolute obsession with space (not because i want to get out of this planet!) i really want to be an astronaut but the problem is I don’t know how to become one. It is also very competitive but i don't let that worry me. I'm applying to University next year, i'm currently deciding what i should study. Any idea?
Order of Kilopi
well, they will probably need a medical doctor on the moon.
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1. Medicine with a preference for biomed.
2. Materials and organic chemistry
3. Engineering (preferably Aerospace or Mechanical)
4. Geology and geochemistry
5. Microbiology with Exobiology emphasis
Get advanced degrees in at least two of the above. Simultaneously become a pilot. Amateur pilot will be fine to get the basics.
Consider some practical, hands-on skills such as machining, amateur model-building, or amateur robotics.
Don't neglect overall physical fitness, including cardio-health.
Do that by the time you're 30 and you'll be at about the right point for the new exploration wave (~10 years).
Order of Kilopi
You guys keep current on this more than myself, but it seemed to me that historically Astronauts came from Air-Force/Navy flight backgrounds. Test-pilots and what-not. I'm sure the options have expanded now, and Irish is probably right in that a nice sciencey-degree would help. Wonder if it's possible to get both? I know millitary helps pay for schooling.
Your other option, unless television lies to me (in which case I'll be devistated), is to be a farmer and build your own spaceship in your barn.
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magma,
Good luck, but realize it is a hard road. I know of two people, both PhDs, who tried to become mission specialists, but didn't make it (one got to like the second or third round of picks).
Order of Kilopi
1. Medicine with a preference for biomed.
2. Materials and organic chemistry
3. Engineering (preferably Aerospace or Mechanical)
4. Geology and geochemistry
5. Microbiology with Exobiology emphasis
Get advanced degrees in at least two of the above. Simultaneously become a pilot. Amateur pilot will be fine to get the basics.
That's good advice. I might change #1 to becoming a medical doctor with training as a pathologist (heavy on microbiology - that could be very useful on a Mars mission).
The chances of becoming an astronaut are extremely slim but I'm not going to discourage you. It is a long, difficult goal that only a few hundred people have achieved. You don't necessarily have to be a pilot but it doesn't hurt. In the 1960s, almost all astronauts came from the test pilot ranks but that changed with the Shuttle. For future CEV missions to LEO, the moon and Mars, try to think of the skillset needed by the crew and work to achieve as many of those skills as you can. Each crewmember will require a wide range of knowledge in multiple disciplines along with the need for hands-on repair skills. Perhaps an undergrad degree in mechanical engineering and premed, followed by medical school with training in pathology. That's a very hard goal but I wish you the best of luck.
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How competitive is it to work for a space agency? and i don't mean working as an astronaut. Just the general stuff that happen on the ground (observation, etc)
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I have to say I don't know things like applicants per opening. I suspect you might find some of that stuff on NASA websites.Originally Posted by magma
It does seem that the number of positions are always changing as government funding changes. Here in Cleveland we have the NASA-Glenn Research Center. For a while there were rumors that it actually might be closed because of budget cuts. Certainly the staffing changes as the projects they work on change.
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My only advice is work really, really hard. They recruit the best. A degree/PhD in Aeronautical Engineering wouldn't hurt your chances either. I also feel your passion to cross the biosphere and view Earth from a vantage point that few others have.
Established Member
Magma,
see your other therad on this subject, and the New Scientist article that pionts out that "The shuttle flew only three times in 2006 and has only seven seats available on each flight, yet NASA has more than 125 astronauts on its books."
John
Order of Kilopi
Are sure you WANT to become an astronaut? Even if you succeed and get accepted (which, as others pointed out, takes a truly superhuman effort) into Astronaut Corps, you may condemn yourself to years of limbo -- vicious competition for too few seats among too many "astronauts"*, no certainty when if ever you get to fly, and political backstabbing and bootlicking which are the inevitable result of this situation:
http://riofriospacetime.blogspot.com...astronaut.html
Frankly, if I were in your place -- about to enter college, and determined to fly in space one day, -- I would do exactly what other people on this thread suggested in the short term, but with very different long term goals. Study aerospace engineering, robotics, physics, life-support systems. Get a private pilot license if possible. A stint in USAF definitely a good idea, if you think you qualify for a pilot (20/20 vision a must). But after you have your wings and honorable discharge, go into business end of aerospace, preferably at the technological cutting edge. Concentrate on building things that fly, and on making money. My goal in your situation would be either to become rich enough to buy a space ride -- $20 million now, but bound to come down with competition, -- or become part of the said competition and sell rides. Which is even better of course, but harder.
*I put "astronauts" in quotes because once you are accepted, that's your title, but if 10 years later you still never flew, what does that make you?
Last edited by Ilya; 2007-Feb-19 at 03:25 PM.
Order of Kilopi
That's about the same as any engineering company. Just do your job OK, learn new skills when offered, and you'll grow in the company. ONly far more interesting than any engineering company.
Note that working for a space agency is not *the* best step to become an astronaut, in fact there are a number of people who quit their NASA job to become an army test pilot and became astronaut that way.
A last piece of good advice: choose studies you really like and give perspective on a non-astronaut job you really like. If you do become an astronaut, all for the better, if you don't, nothing lost. Don't choose things ONLY to become an astronaut.
Order of Kilopi
An "astrodidn't"? or "astronot"
Order of Kilopi
While you may not like this, joining a branch of the military as an officer gives you an advantage.
Also you need to have at least 20/300 vision and no corrective eye surgeries.
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