What does a astronaut do?

As an astronaut, much of your time will be spent training to carry out tasks before going into space. Once there, you could: clean and test air filters and air quality repair, maintain and test oxygen production systems clean and maintain water systems and testing for bacterial growth package and dispose of waste…

Astronaut

Astronauts fly spacecraft and do experiments in space.

What you'll do

As an astronaut, much of your time will be spent training to carry out tasks before going into space. Once there, you could:

clean and test air filters and air quality
repair, maintain and test oxygen production systems
clean and maintain water systems and testing for bacterial growth
package and dispose of waste
replace worn or broken parts on the spacecraft
install or repair scientific instruments and equipment
set up, carry out and monitor experiments
take samples, like blood, from astronauts to assess their health
communicate with Earth by satellite to transfer data and send reports

Working environment

You could work at a training centre.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding, cramped and you may spend nights away from home.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

the ability to use your judgement and make decisions
the ability to operate and control equipment
physical skills like flexibility, balance and co-ordination
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
leadership skills
observation and recording skills
the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
thinking and reasoning skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to become a astronaut

You can get into this career by applying directly.

Direct application

You can apply for astronaut training with the European Astronaut Corps or with NASA .

You need to be between 27 and 37 years old and able to speak English fluently. It'll be helpful if you can also speak basic Russian because it's spoken with English on the International Space Station.

You'll have an advantage if you're a pilot with at least 1,000 hours of flying experience in a high performance aircraft like a fighter jet.

You'll also need a degree and a postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject like:

biology, chemistry or physics
engineering
medicine
aeronautics
mathematics

You must hold US citizenship or US dual-citizenship to become an astronaut with NASA.

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

pass a medical check
have a good level of fitness

Career path and progression

You'll have several years' training before you're ready for a mission. It may take you years to be selected for a space flight. Once you're selected, you'll get mission specific training. Your flight in space could last between 6 months and a year.

With experience you could:

be selected for other missions
move into management, teaching or research
set up your own consultancy business

You can find out more about related career opportunities in space exploration from the European Space Agency .

Career tips

There's only a small number of astronaut training places available and there's a lot of competition for them.

You'll need to do rigorous physical and psychological testing as part of the application process so you'll need to maintain excellent health and endurance.

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