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  • So far, a total of 565 people have gone to space.

  • In 2017, NASA recruited its latest batch of trainees:

  • Group 22, akaThe Turtles”.

  • Only 12 out of more than 18,300 applicants were selected.

  • So what does the resume of a fresh NASA trainee look like?

  • Let's take a look at Jonny Kim,

  • one of the 12 selected for NASA's Group 22 batch.

  • Kim joined the Navy fresh out of high school in 2002.

  • After completing training he joined the Navy Seals.

  • He was deployed twice to the Middle East and there

  • he served as a sniper, combat medic, navigator, and point man on more than 100 combat operations.

  • His service earned him a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.

  • Impressed? There's more.

  • In 2012, Kim graduated summa cum laude

  • with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of San Diego.

  • Driven by what he had observed as a medic during his two deployments,

  • Kim decided to study medicine at Harvard Medical School.

  • When he was selected to join NASA,

  • Kim was a resident physician in emergency medicine

  • with Partners Healthcare at Massachusetts General Hospital.

  • Kim is just 35 years old.

  • So why would someone already accomplished in several fields want to become an astronaut?

  • I fundamentally believed in the NASA mission

  • of advancing our space frontier,

  • all while developing innovations and new technologies that would benefit all of humankind.

  • Of course, not all candidates can be Navy Seal mathematician Harvard med school graduates.

  • That's not to say that their resumes are not as impressive.

  • So what does it take to become an astronaut?

  • What type of training do selected candidates go through?

  • And how much of their time do astronauts actually spend in space?

  • You're watching Explore Mode and

  • today we are telling you all about NASA's astronaut selection process.

  • Step one: Get the right degree.

  • According to NASA themselves,

  • the following degrees will help you get a step closer to becoming Major Tom:

  • Engineering, Biological Science, Physical Science, Computer Science, or Mathematics.

  • Now, this may sound very limiting,

  • for those of you who aren't scientifically inclined,

  • but it just so happens that people with these degrees

  • are better prepared to conduct experiments up in space

  • or carry out repair missions in the International Space Station.

  • However, decades ago,

  • it wasn't just people with a background in science who could become astronauts.

  • Time for an Express Explore Explanation!

  • Start the clock!

  • Back in 1957, The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1and 2,

  • the first two man-made satellites to be placed into Earth's orbit.

  • The second one being the first to carry animal life

  • a small dog called Laika,

  • who deserves an Explore Mode episode of her own, to be honest,

  • click the poll to let us know if that's something you'd like to see!

  • So in 1958,

  • the U.S. was keen on getting ahead in the Space Race.

  • President Dwight D. Eisenhower created NASA.

  • NASA's first human spaceflight program was called Project Mercury.

  • Its goal?

  • To assemble the first human space flight crew that would put a man into Earth's orbit,

  • before the Soviet Union of course.

  • At the time, potential astronauts had to cover the following selection criteria:

  • They had to be less than 40 years old;

  • They had to be less than 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall;

  • Thay had to be in excellent physical condition;

  • They had to have a bachelor's degree or equivalent diploma;

  • They had to be a graduate of test pilot school with

  • a minimum of 1,500 hours total flying time

  • and also had to be a qualified jet pilot.

  • Back then, you had to have piloting experience in order to even be considered for the program

  • because NASA's early spacecraft would require some sort of manual piloting.

  • Nowadays, NASA says that

  • Flying experience is not a requirement,”

  • but thatAny type of flying experience-military or private, is beneficial to have.”

  • Seven lucky men made it into NASA's first Astronaut group:

  • Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.

  • However, it would be a Soviet cosmonaut who would become the first man to orbit around Earth.

  • On April 12, 1961,

  • Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into outer space.

  • Let's keep going down the checklist of astronaut requirements.

  • As we said in the Express Explore Explanation,

  • being a trained pilot is no longer a must.

  • Wanna-be astronauts can present evidence of having at least

  • 3 years of experience working in their field after obtaining their degrees

  • instead of completing 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft.

  • Needless to say, astronauts need to be in tip-top physical condition,

  • and according to NASA excellent vision is a must.

  • Whether it's through LASIK surgery or glasses,

  • astronauts need to have 20/20 vision.

  • Applicants also have to have the right anthropometric requirements,

  • to be able to perform spacewalks and fit into the spacesuits and capsules.

  • Oh, and you have to either be a U.S. Citizen

  • or possess dual citizenship to be part of NASA space missions,

  • although they often collaborate with other International Space Missions such as

  • the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,

  • the European Space Agency,

  • the Canadian Space Agency and

  • Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities from Russia.

  • These are all requirements NASA has made available to the public,

  • however, there are many abilities needed to become an astronaut that don't really translate well on paper.

  • An astronaut needs to possess great psychological agility and resilience

  • in order to face possible challenges up in space.

  • So, say you passed the selection process.

  • Congratulations!

  • Now you begin two years of basic training.

  • Welcome to the Johnson Space Center, or JSC.

  • This is where the selected astronaut candidates will take classes on space systems and space vehicles

  • along with Earth sciences, meteorology, space science, and engineering.

  • That's the mentally demanding part.

  • Then comes the physical work.

  • Candidates train in land and water survival

  • in case of an emergency landing back on Earth

  • aircraft operations and also intense swimming and scuba diving.

  • Swimming and scuba diving may seem like unnecessary skills when you're floating up in waterless space,

  • but it does give astronauts a feel of the obstacles they will face

  • while carrying out engineering operations in a microgravity environment.

  • The water training is quite intense,

  • candidates have to swim three lengths of a 25-meter pool without stopping,

  • and then swim three lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes,

  • this round has no time limits.

  • After they're done, they need to tread water non-stop for 10 minutes while still wearing their flight suits.

  • In order to experience what microgravity will feel like onboard the International Space Station,

  • candidates fly on a reduced-gravity aircraft that performs parabolic maneuvers,

  • creating brief moments of weightlessness for roughly 20 seconds.

  • This may sound like a lot of fun,

  • but imagine doing it up to 40 times a day.

  • Yeah, not a lot of fun for your stomach.

  • In order for a candidate to graduate into a fully-fledged astronaut,

  • they must have completed the following courses:

  • International Space Station systems training,

  • Extravehicular Activity skills training,

  • Robotics skills training,

  • Russian Language training,

  • and aircraft flight readiness training.

  • After candidates are done with basic training

  • they are given mission assignments and separated into two groups:

  • pilots and mission specialists.

  • Then the training continues.

  • Water.

  • It's an important element in astronaut training.

  • So much so that NASA has an entire facility dedicated to underwater training:

  • The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.

  • See there is no place on Earth that has microgravity,

  • which makes it a bit complicated when it comes to training people

  • who are about to be blasted into space to live in, well, microgravity.

  • Luckily for humans, water exists,

  • and although we cannot erase gravity underwater

  • we can achieve neutral buoyancy,

  • which is the closest we can get here on Earth to weightlessness.

  • The NBL was built specifically to prepare astronauts to carry out spacewalks in full astro-equipment,

  • while being constrained by microgravity.

  • Inside this gigantic pool are several different mockups of modules of the ISS.

  • Astronauts are put inside the pool in full gear,

  • and with the help of specially trained assistant divers,

  • they practice fixing components outside of the ISS

  • and overall, get a feel of how to move around in their massive, stiff suits

  • while being suspended in the vacuum of space.

  • In addition,

  • pilot astronauts need to keep their flying skills sharp

  • by clocking in 15 hours of flying time per month.

  • This is to help them get adjusted to g-forces experienced during launch time.

  • It can get ugly, check this out.

  • On October 18, NASA conducted its first all-female spacewalk.

  • NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir

  • put on their suits to replace a failed power controller

  • outside the ISS in an operation that lasted seven hours and seventeen minutes.

  • This was Meir's first spacewalk and the fourth for Koch,

  • who has now accumulated almost 28 hours of spacewalking time.

  • So far, we've sent humans to orbit around space,

  • we've sent them to the moon and we have sent probes

  • to Mars, Venus, Titan and even some asteroids and comets.

  • So what's next?

  • Well, NASA wants to send humans to Mars by the 2030s.

  • They already have a 5 phase plan.

  • Their goal?

  • To enable a capability to extend human presence,

  • including potential human habitation on another celestial body

  • and a thriving space economy in the 21st Century.”

  • Surely, astronauts selected for this program will face an even more

  • interesting selection and training program.

  • What do you think?

  • Will we make it to Mars within the next couple of decades?

  • Let us know in the comments!

  • Thanks for watching Explore Mode,

  • if you liked this video hit the thumbs up button.

  • If you want to learn more about space,

  • check out our video on NASA's top 3 missions in the past decades.

  • Before you leave, make sure to hit the subscribe and bell button

  • so you get a notification whenever we upload a new episode.

  • See you next week, and in the meantime,

  • keep your explore mode on.

So far, a total of 565 people have gone to space.

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What it takes to become an astronaut | How does NASA select astronauts? | EXPLORE MODE

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    nao 發佈於 2021 年 10 月 06 日
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