If the stupendous sky amazes you with its limitlessness then you should give yourself a chance to be an astronaut. An astronaut can get the opportunity to go to space and do the research in zero gravity environments.  In this article, we will tell you that how can you develop your career as an Astronaut.

Overview

The astronauts are trained to travel and live in the space. There are two types of astronauts; the Flight engineers and Astronaut Researcher. Both of them need to undergo the training of living in zero gravity which is not a cake walk. To be familiar with the environment that space has, the astronauts need to spend at least 6 months in International Space Station (ISS). During this time they perform many experiments in a zero-gravity environment.

How to be an Astronaut

As of now, only NASA sends human in space. Every year NASA gets lots of applications from the aspirants to be an astronaut but only a few get selected because this job needs a few special personality traits along with educational qualification.

So here are the eligibility criteria to be an astronaut.

Flight Engineers

The flight engineers are basically the pilot astronauts. The job responsibility of pilot astronauts include safety of flight during the mission, operating and controlling the space shuttle, and maintaining the coordination and communication with the crew team.

Educational Qualification

To be a pilot astronaut, high ranks in academic are a must. Candidate must have at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft.

Astronaut Researcher

As per NASA’s requirement, the candidate must have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Many astronauts have a master’s degree or even a Ph.D. in their field. NASA also maintains a list of exceptions to these degrees, such as geography or aviation management.

Physical Fitness for Flight Engineer and Astronaut Researcher

To travel in space you need to be physically fit. Here is the detail of some measurements of fitness decided by NASA.

• Your Distant visual acuity should be 20/70 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 each eye.
• Your height should be in between 64 to 76 inches.
• Your Blood pressure should be measured 140/90 in a sitting position.

Work Life of Astronauts

Many astronauts get training to live and travel in space but they didn’t get a chance immediately to go in space. When they are not on a mission they spend their time like normal office goers but if they are on a mission then every single second is counted.

You can practice your career in Florida, USA. This place is best for astronauts. In India, you can practice your career in Bangalore.

Education Institutes for studies of Astronomy

Following Indian, Institutes provides advanced studies to the future astronauts.

• Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore
• Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
• Raman Research Institute, Bangalore
• Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune
• National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune

We hope that our content on a career as an Astronaut has helped you.  If you have any query related to this article, you can write to us in the comment box below.