To be an astronaut who will live and work for six months on board the International Space Station, you will have to make the grade, after you must have gone through a gruelling selection process and coped with rigorous training – which tests your physical fitness, psychology and aptitude for the job.
Try the challenges every astronaut overcome, and find out whether you have the right stuff to be an astronaut.
How healthy are you?
There are no doctors in space, so astronauts need to be fit and well. So, would you pass this health check?
- You must be free of disease, psychiatric disorders, and have the normal range of motion and functionality in your joints. It also depends if your condition could worsen over time.
- Vision problems, along with cardiovascular defects, account for most medical disqualifications.
- You must be free of any dependency on tobacco, alcohol or drugs, and would need to pass a medical exam that proves you are fit to fly at least an aircraft.
- You will need to prove you are reasonably academic. A postgraduate degree in a natural science, medicine, maths, engineering or computer science course are usually required. Or you could be a pilot with over a thousand hours of flying experience.
How would you cope under pressure?
If you notice the smell of a possible fire while on board the International Space Station, what would you do?
Being faced with an emergency 250 miles above Earth would be alarming, but you must stay composed. Astronauts can’t just call the fire brigade, so they must have the right psychological responses to follow protocol in extremely stressful situations.
That’s one reason why astronauts for space missions are assessed, and tested for personality traits like rationality and the ability to work as part of a team. The type of tests they use are kept top secret, so they can’t be practised by aspiring astronauts.
Test your spatial ability
Astronauts working in zero gravity must recognise and visualise objects from many different angles.
Good spatial ability is one of many competencies when looking for a potential astronaut. Others include memory, coordination, concentration and technical knowledge.
If you would like to take each of these tests, proceed to BBCiWonder
See Also: How Astronauts Train For Space Missions
2 thoughts on “Do You Have What it Takes to Be an Astronaut?”
How can one be member
Astronauts are elite professionals. Nothing says you cannot. But you must start with excelling in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics courses. You should also be curious enough to ask questions, beyond what you are taught in class, and what the textbooks teach. Astronauts or would-be astronauts should be heavily steeped in the Sciences, and have an original mind.
You can also join clubs and societies that groom interested young minds like yourself, and provide up-to-the-minute information on space science. I will get the necessary ones and send them to your mail address.
My Besties.