Want to go to Space? Here's How!

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

You may have heard that space travel is getting to be so advanced that pretty soon companies could just send up tourists with a lot of money to visit the cosmos. You could wait around for that to happen, or you could go to school and train to be an astronaut.

Within the next few decades, humans could be leaving their footprints on Mars. That means NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is looking for our generation to take on the challenge.

          The qualifications that NASA is looking for astronaut eligibility include:

1. A bachelor’s degree in engineering, physical science, biological science, computer science, or mathematics.
2. At least three years of professional experience after a degree completion, or at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.
3. The ability to pass the NASA long-duration astronaut physical. This includes distant and near accuracy vision, which should be correctable to 20/20 in each eye. The use of glasses would be acceptable.

Astronaut candidates must also have skills in leadership, communications, and teamwork.

NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board reviews the applications and assesses each candidate’s qualifications. Then, the board invites about 120 of the highest quality candidates to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas for interviews. Of those interviewed, about half of them are invited back for a “second round”. When the final astronauts are selected, they have to complete a two-year training program.

To be an astronaut, you’d probably want to go to a school that focuses on things like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Some exceptional schools to become an astronaut include:

1. United States Naval Academy. USNA has 52 astronaut alumni and is solely focused on STEM.
2. The United States Air Force Academy. USAFA has 36 astronaut alumni. At the academy, their rigorous academic program balances science, technology, engineering and math with arts and humanities.
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT has 34 astronaut alumni. The mission is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, engineering and math that will best serve our nation and world.
4. Naval Postgraduate School. NPS has 32 astronaut alumni. They plan to “provide relevant and unique advanced education and research programs to increase the combat effectiveness of commissioned officers of the Naval Service.”
5. Stanford University. Stanford has 21 astronaut alumni. Students create and apply knowledge by thinking and doing, preparing for leadership in a rapidly changing world.

In high school, you prepare yourself for college, which prepares you for your career. Some helpful classes to take in high school are algebra, astronomy, biology, computer applications, physical science, and physics.

With NASA's plans for the future, new astronauts will fly farther into space than ever on lunar missions and may be the first to land humans on Mars. It's a rigorous and difficult journey to even get into the space program but once you’re there, the cosmos is within your reach.

Story by Ava Macie 

Works Cited
United States Air Force Academy, www.usafa.af.mil/.
“Academics.” Stanford University, www.stanford.edu/academics/.Dunbar, Brian. “Astronaut Requirements.” NASA, NASA, 8 Apr. 2015, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html.
“Education.” MIT, web.mit.edu/education/.
“United States Naval Academy :: Leaders to Serve the Nation :: USNA.” The U.S. Naval Academy, www.usna.edu/homepage.php.
“Web Content Display Web Content Display.” Strategic Plan - Naval Postgraduate School, my.nps.edu/web/guest/strategic-plan.

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