Aspiring Astronaut: How To Reach Your Goal of Working at NASA

[Kishlay]

I am an aspiring astronaut want to go in International Space Station also want to work in nasa. I am a 16 year old guy from India...will complete studies till 20... I want to know what are the criterion for reaching my goal, has all the qualities which an aspirant should have.. just need a source of light for guidance... what are the degrees needed to have...?

 

[mfb]

Did you check the NASA website?

 

[ChaseDuncan]

You have to be a US citizen to be an astronaut for NASA. It appears that India has a space program as well called ISRO. Perhaps that's what you should be looking at?

My source is here:

http://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/faq.htm

That also answers many of your questions. However, citizenship is a requirement...

 

[vhbelvadi]

I am an aspiring astronaut ...

I doubt ISRO has a space programme involving astronauts yet. It's mostly unmanned missions, so unless that changes anytime in the coming years (as it should), you're better off looking into NASA and getting that US citizenship.

 

[Kishlay]

thanks for all of you people...
for helping me...

 

[ZapperZ]

Not to burst your bubble, but you might want to read this to inject a degree of reality:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=667559

Moral of the story: there is an extremely strong possibility that, at your age, what you think you want to do will probably not be what you end up doing.

There is something else that needs to be mentioned here. Organizations such as NASA actually do not have a lot of employed scientists as most think. If you look at many of the NASA projects (for example, look at various publications in journals), most of the people who are listed on these NASA projects are actually employed by other institutions, especially universities and national laboratories. They do not work for NASA! They may be working on a project funded by NASA, but they are not NASA employees! Go check it out. Look at the Mars Rover project, for example, and see who someone like Steve Squyres, the project PI, works for.

Zz.

 

[Kishlay]

let us see what happens in the future...

by examining your poll.. currently it was ~5%... but the probability is not 0...!

 

[ZapperZ]

let us see what happens in the future...

by examining your poll.. currently it was ~5%... but the probability is not 0...!

I can only lead a horse to the water...

Zz.

 

[Choppy]

Hi Kishlay,

Something to keep in mind is that when you have a dream like this, a lot of people are going to bring up the realities and probabilities involved and it will be easy to become disenfranchised. But I think... particularly for someone who is 16, that it's important to have dreams like this, and to chase them.

I would highly recommend Chris Hadfield's recent book: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. Colonel Hadfield decided he wanted to become an astronaut when he was very young as well, but he was not American. There was no Canadian space program at the time. And yet, he persisted. He became one of the top pilots in the world and when Canada did develop a space program, he was one of the handful of potential astronauts selected. He has been to space three times now, I believe, most recently in a six month mission as the commander of the International Space Station.

Sure, the odds are stacked highly against you. But this is the kind of dream that there is value in pursuing. Say in your endeavour you become a scientist, a pilot, an engineer or a medical doctor - all are constructive professions that could allow you to do a lot of good in the world.

Read the biographies of other successful astronauts and cosmonauts. They'll give you an idea of what the "right stuff" is - or at least what it has been.

 

[Kishlay]

I can only lead a horse to the water...

Zz.

never ever underestimate a potential of a human being... as I have said earlier, THE PROBABILITY IS NOT '0'... i don't believe in arguing with you... i will come with flying colours one day... and may god keep you alive to see that day.

 

[Kishlay]

choppy... thank you for guiding me...