• Question: what qualifications would I need to become an astronaut or someone who studies space

    Asked by anon-200919 to Rosemary, Oliver, Leigh, Jordan, Hannah, David on 5 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Leigh Kesler

      Leigh Kesler answered on 5 Mar 2019:

      Most astronauts are scientists or pilots (or both!). You should definitely read about and talk to people in the space program – there are a lot of different skills that astronauts need to have. They need to be in good physical shape. Some fields of study that will be important for future astronauts are: medicine, geology, mechanical engineering (and engineering in general). NASA lists some qualifications here (https://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/broch00.htm). The main ones are a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and some relevant work experience. The important thing for you to do as a student is to learn as much as you can about the relevant fields and find one that is exciting to you. Keep an eye on programs that will give you experience and help you get to know people in the field.

    • Photo: Oliver Gordon

      Oliver Gordon answered on 5 Mar 2019: last edited 5 Mar 2019 4:36 pm

      People who study space are called “astronomers” – we have quite a big group of them in Nottingham! The students in our Physics department also get to use the telescopes whenever they want, too, which is nice.

      Astronomy is a type of physics. You can study it as part of any physics course – so you would be looking at GCSEs and A Levels with maths, physics and science. You’d then be looking at a bachelors (probably a masters) in most likely Physics. Doing some relevant work experience is of course super helpful! Engineers are also very much wanted to build rockets, along with people who can use code and use computers to study the data.

      Having said all that, there’s totally stuff you can get involved in now. A lot of astronomy is classifying galaxies and stars. It’s largely done by hand, so people without specific scientific training but an interest in the subject are always wanted to help – https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zookeeper/galaxy-zoo/
      You can also get in touch with the people who will be working with your data – they’re always super interested in talking about what they do, and are great stepping stones to getting good advice (and a helping hand into university!)

      Becoming an astronaut, though, I’m not sure!

Comments