At the same time, everyone who wants to fly out of the atmosphere needs to pass an initial physical fitness training. All of conditions will be taken into account before entering NASA’s astronaut candidate training program. Before you’re finally selected, you’ll need to pass rounds of interviews. Now the really difficult work has just begun. All selected candidates will undergo a two-year training program, during which it is not as strict as you might think. Although the candidates already have in-depth study of their fields, their training is still primarily focused on the academic side.
Preparing for life in space and training their survival skills means there are all sorts of extra courses.For example, in technology and science, it includes eight medical training and first aid focused courses. In addition, the survival training course pushes almost everyone outside their comfort zone. The physical side can be surprisingly tough, because NASA astronauts are required to qualify for scuba diving and pass a strenuous swimming test within the first month, which goes far beyond the first physical test during the application period. Building cardiovascular fitness with wrestling, treadmills and special strength training is a long task that not only enables them to perform difficult tasks in confined space, but also prepares them for potential problems their bodies may face, such as loss of bone mineral density and sarcopenia without enough exercise.
Perhaps one of the most widely known aspects of astronaut training is the zero-gravity float chambers, which are purposely set in free-fall to simulate microgravity. Over the years, NASA’s zero-gravity float chambers have earned nicknames such as the Weightless Wonder, or more aptly, the Vomit Comet. The main goal is to allow prep astronauts to feel what low gravity feels like, although nothing can fully prepare them for what the floating really feels like. At least zero-gravity flights can give us some idea of what the space environment feels like.
In addition, the NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory make a further simulations of real conditions of the space. It’s basically a giant swimming pool, but it’s not a place to do training. It searches for anything very similar to space in an environment far from everyday life, for example, working underwater with modified spacesuits, accurately replicating missions, completing complex repairs and daily tasks with specific spacecraft and equipment. It also needs time for fieldwork or frequent trips to remote caves , because it will provide them useful experience for the dangers and isolated locations that cavers typically encounter. The experience provides a great opportunity for teamwork and team building , as well as the opportunity to really discover a place that has never been before. All of this could be used on the future expeditions to Mars. In addition, too many types of complex machines and equipment need to be mastered, including the robotic arms used to move huge objects.
The simulators of Spacecraft are often replicas of the equipment of Russian cosmonauts who work in a scaled-down replica of the International Space Station. In fact, leaving NASA for space programs around the world can sometimes be more onerous than staying in the United States to work. In China, basic training only takes about one year, but a variety of skills need to learn over the next three years. According to reports, China is more concerned with training trainees in centrifuges to make them adapt to high gravity flight. Overall, while the space programs in the U.S., European, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese are all slightly different, there are no differences in essence. After all, the astronauts need to be on the same platform because they will meet and work together on the ISS.
The global emphasis on teamwork actually allows them to gain skills that are always neglected, and the requirement to be a real “person” and a good public speaker is surprisingly important, since those who have traveled in space often have to give public speeches and interviews on news and television about their experiences. Likewise, it is necessary for astronauts on the ISS to learn at least two languages. The astronauts, whether from Russia or the United States or any other country, must master English and Russian so that they can stay in contact with NASA and Roscosmos throughout their training. The importance of teamwork cannot be overstated. All candidates are selected based on this criteria, and if they can not prove themselves as good team players, it doesn’t matter how good they are, in other words, they won’t be chose.
The potential astronauts undergo daily and weekly psychological evaluations , all in an effort to determine their productivity in the claustrophobic confines of space and isolated habitats. This will become even more important as governments and companies take the point from the low orbiting International Space Station to Mars. It is especially significant for filming and communications between mission control and the Red Plane (Mars). Astronauts will have to rely more on each other and their initiative to get the job done. They at least have to travel to Mars for three months before they can lead a settled life, which is twice as long as the longest time spent in space. So the astronauts need to clearly understand what their journey into space is really like.
However, if someone get through the assorted training , pass the relentless physical tests, and become a whiz of space mechanics, he can get great rewards. Astronauts are often ranked as the happiest, healthiest, smartest, friendliest people. No one knows better than they do how it feels to see the Earth from distance. The most rewarding thing is to fly into the miraculous space.
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