Journey thousands of people choose one to become NASA astronaut

Candidates must demonstrate ability in many different fields, aiming to reach 0.1% of the 18,000 registered people to become astronauts.

Each astronaut possesses and remembers a number, marking their order in the list of people launched into space. Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut, received number two just three weeks after Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin began the era of human space in 1961, according to NBC.

Neil Armstrong was ranked 26th when he set foot on the Moon in 1969. Sally Ride was the 120th, also the first American astronaut in the universe in 1983. Just a few months later, Guy Bluford became an American. The first African to space with sequence number 125. The newest member on the list is Jack Fischer, who holds the number 553. For comparison, the number of people who climb to Mount Everest is 8 times larger than this list.

Becoming an astronaut is the dream of many people. When the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) posted a notice to recruit astronauts in 2015, more than 18,000 applications were submitted, breaking all previous records. But 99.9% of applicants were eliminated from the file round, the rate of passing NASA astronaut training was only 1/78 compared to Harvard University.

The starting point of NASA astronauts.(Photo: TSHA).

Only 12 out of 18,000 applications were selected as astronaut candidates and received a call to Johnson Space Center, a 655-hectare complex in Houston, USA. Astronaut Terry Virts said the time of receiving the recruitment notice from NASA in 2000 was "one of the most incredible and incredible events in my life".

NASA's ultra-low pass rate comes from two reasons. First, the agency has the right to choose the best candidates among the best. They must ensure the safety of their team and equipment worth hundreds of billions of USD, as well as the prestige of America in the field of conquering space. Only one weakness is enough to get the candidate removed from this list.

Astronaut work is more difficult than many people think. It requires a combination of talent, intelligence, and excellent physicality and certain personality traits. NASA seeks people with higher technical skills than pilots, possessing the brave qualities of special forces, the patience of teachers, and the strength and determination of mountaineers. Besides, they must also have medical, technical and physical expertise.

Three NASA astronauts shared the training process.(Photo: NBC).

Astronauts Sunita Williams (No. 450), Karen Nyberg (No. 478) and Kjell Lindgren (No. 542) shared their journey to become astronauts. In real life, these are people with normal appearance, not really outstanding. Only when they reveal their professional issues and personal achievements, do they show themselves as excellent individuals, worthy of being selected for NASA's space program.

The personal profile of the astronauts is very diverse. They can come from small towns or big cities, advance and achieve outstanding achievements in the military, academic, industrial and medical sciences.

Astronaut training for vestibular on jet fighter.

The common point is that all must undergo rigorous training programs, helping them to get used to emergency situations in real and simulated conditions, as well as assessing physicality by flights on ultrasonic and row fighters. now work underwater in astronaut suits, until they are able to react immediately without thinking.

Experience has shown that the combination of innate personality and non-stop training will help astronauts face challenges and dangers in the universe. It includes stress caused by long-term living in a narrow space with familiar faces, or simple tasks such as washing face and cooking also become very complicated.

Experience almost drowning in space

Karen Nyberg worked on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2013 when the incident with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano (No. 532). When Parmitano worked outside ISS, the cooling system in the astronaut leaked, causing water to fill the helmet.

In non-gravity environments in orbit, water will form blocks that cling to every surface, instead of accumulating at the bottom of a container like on the ground. Within a few minutes, the water covered the eyes and ears of Parmitano. This astronaut could not see anything around, almost unable to breathe. He called for help from his teammates and quickly found a way back inside ISS before drowning in space.

Luca Parmitano is only an hour before the incident.(Photo: NASA).

Parmitano used his hand to search the way back to the station, while Nyberg was inside to control the pressurization system. Chris Cassidy (No. 499), who also works outside ISS, meets Parmitano in a pressurized chamber. As soon as Cassidy closes outside, Nyberg begins the process of balancing pressure between compartments.

However, this process is very slow. Parmitano regularly informed the situation about the command center in Houston, but then he suddenly fell silent.

Nyberg could not know what was happening to his teammates on the other side of the door. She intends to increase the air pressure to the maximum in order to shorten the time to pressurize, then quickly open the door and free Parmitano from the helmet. But that will puncture the eardrum of Parmitano and Cassidy, leading to the risk of canceling the task.

In the meantime, Cassidy tightened his grip on Parmitano, the Italian astronaut indicating that he was fine. You can still breathe and talk, even if the water inside has damaged the communication system. Parmitano did not hear anything because the water had spilled into his ear.

Two astronauts work outside ISS before the incident occurs.(Photo: NASA).

Finally, the pressure is balanced. Nyberg tore open the door and quickly removed the helmet for Parmitano, then wiped the water off the astronaut's face."I was very worried , " Nyberg recalls. However, it was their arduous training that prevented the disaster from happening.

"In such emergencies, the best way to do this is to calm down , avoid reckless actions and just follow the process," said astronaut Karen Nyberg.

Water overflowing into the helmet is a rare case, but operating the pressurized chamber is one of the long-term Nyberg training procedures at the Johnson Space Center's ISS model. Most of the training period focuses on day-to-day activities, including exercise, exam testing, talking to reporters and students on the ground, repairing complex and very broken toilets. ISS.

Astronaut training emergency response on ISS.

But at any time, supervisors like Michael Jensen, deputy director of training at Johnson Space Center, can activate emergency situations like smoke overflowing with ISS without warning. The astronaut candidate must immediately wear a gas filter and evacuate to another compartment.

"You won't have time to think about your next move, all must be reflective , " said deputy director Michael Jensen.

Astronauts must be able to solve unpredictable problems, requiring high technical skills in a short time. At the same time, they still had to follow the process exactly, the same way Nyberg handled Parmitano's problem. Mr. Jensen said that those who seek improper improvisation will become a space hazard.

Growing up in a small village in the midwestern United States, the girl Nyberg was different from the test pilots, who were both men and had experienced military service that dominated the list of astronauts from the first flight up. America's universe until the end of the Apollo program.

From a young age, Nyberg had a dream of being an astronaut, but not in the pilot's direction. Instead, she became an expert in mechanical engineering, graduated with honors at the University of North Dakota, then received a master's and doctorate degree in just four years. Nyberg got his first job at NASA while still in school.

In 1999, with a doctorate in hand, Nyberg enrolled in NASA astronaut training. To apply, the applicant must be a US citizen, have a bachelor's degree in science, technology, engineering or math, three years of professional experience or 1,000 hours of fighter, with the ability to pass the test Harsh physical.

Karen Nyberg before the flight to ISS.(Photo: NASA).

She passed the first selection round and entered the interview phase. During the recruitment of astronauts in 2015, only 120 out of 18,000 people did this. After months of interviews, inspections and oversight, Nyberg set foot on NASA's space program. It took her eight more years of practice, before going to space in her first mission.

The path to space is not always easy for Nyberg, it even has a big impact on her family life. In the most recent mission that lasted 166 days on the ISS in 2013, Nyberg only saw his three-year-old son about half an hour each week.

NASA must add a personal image transmission to help astronauts get used to the terrible loneliness in the universe.Psychological pressure stemming from loneliness is one of the most difficult parts of space travel, something few ordinary people understand.

Astronauts have very little time to interact with families.(Photo: NASA).

Healthy to conquer the universe

Bringing people to space is no longer as difficult as it used to be. The real challenge in NASA's ambition to explore space and conquer Mars stems from the astronaut's physical and psychological nature.

When returning to the ground after almost a year on ISS, astronaut Scott Kelly (No. 391) took more than a month to recover. The cost of being released from gravity on Earth is muscle and bone atrophy.

Astronauts cannot stand on their own when returning to Earth.(Photo: Popsci).

Scientists have not found an effective way to help astronauts maintain their physical and mental health, especially with missions that can last for two years or longer, then require them to lift things. heavy on extraterrestrial planets.

To find the answer, NASA embarked on Scott Kelly's research after returning to Earth. They compared his health and his twin brother Mark Kelly (No. 409) to stay on the ground.

On the other hand, NASA also takes advantage of medical-trained astronauts like Kjell Lindgren. He joined NASA in June 2009 after obtaining his doctor's degree in medicine from Colorado University, USA.

Kjell Lindgren used to work in a medical emergency, postdoctoral research, a residency in cosmology and a master's degree in public health. He later became a ground surgeon in NASA's space shuttle and ISS missions.

As a candidate, the record with the parachute champion performance at Lindgren's US Air Force Academy is not difficult to draw attention from 50 members of NASA's rookie selection committee, most of them non-members. adept practitioner.

Kjell Lindgren before going to space.(Photo: NASA).

Courage is one of the criteria to choose NASA's top candidates, astronauts have determined each mission can be harmful to themselves. In addition to the risk of serious incidents and catastrophes, micro gravity and cosmic radiation are the dangers that exist for astronauts.

The ability to heal injuries when returning to Earth or a way to stop the threat with new technology is a matter of scientific constraints, including Lindgren, to resolve before NASA can conquer human space.

To become an astronaut, all candidates must complete two years of basic training . One of the challenges they had to overcome was to become a T-38 supersonic trainer pilot, or at least a rear-seat pilot pilot. The T-38 training process killed some astronauts. But NASA sees this training as an indispensable stage, to forge decisive decision-making skills.

NASA astronaut training with T-38 fighter.

"A mistake in a ground-based simulator is one thing. Damaging a flight with a speed of 800km / h at a height of 12km is another thing, your survivability will be greatly reduced." , former astronaut Terry Virts said.

After completing the training, Lindgren served on the ground for two years in a row, before taking up space. Part of his job is talking to astronauts on ISS. Specialist doctors help Lindgren recognize signs of their psychological problems. Astronauts can be frustrated, frustrated by the lack of time off, or the loss of motivation to work when the task is not over.

In 2013, Lindgren left the bench. He attended a two-year special training session with over 100 scientific experiments and rehearsals for two space walks, to prepare for the mission of 141 days on ISS in 2015.

For someone like Lindgren who has spent many years of medical research, this is not a problem. Every day in the universe must exchange with many days to refine the skills on the ground, support colleagues or perform any tasks required by NASA.

The work is extremely dangerous

Astronaut Sunita Williams spent countless hours of training, to become a woman with the second largest number of hours of space walking. But that was not her most difficult test.

During the most recent space walk (EVA), Williams must fix the problem of leaking toxic ammonia coolant from a solar battery. She worked in a bulky suit, connected to the ISS with just a piece of cable, for six and a half hours continuously. Williams completed the job as planned, deviating less than a minute from the expected.

Sunita Williams on an EVA trip.(Photo: NASA).

NASA requires astronauts to complete tasks that are perfectly difficult, in the exceptionally harsh environment of the universe . That is why astronauts must complete long-term training before being able to enter space.

Williams practiced EVA activity at the Neutral Floating Center of Johnson Space Center. This is the best solution available from NASA to simulate a zero gravity environment in space, which is also one of the most difficult stages of training.

The ISS model is located under a 13m deep water tank, large enough to hold 9 times the amount of water in the Olympic pool. Astronauts must wear a flight heavier than 135kg and train without a six-hour break, facing the feeling of pressing on the body as well as the resistance of water in every action.

Astronaut training simulates zero gravity conditions.

Williams exudes calmness, is also an acquaintance of working with complex devices. She said fixing ammonia leaks is "crazy" . But that was normal in the life of the former 52-year-old naval officer.

Williams once piloted a helicopter in the Desert Shield campaign in the Gulf, with over 3,000 flight hours with 30 different types of aircraft, some of which were experimental aircraft.

Sunita Williams once had 3,000 flight hours with many types of aircraft.(Photo: NASA).

She was selected by NASA while on duty on the USS Saipan amphibious ship in June 1998. Williams began training at the Johnson Space Center two months later.

Williams demonstrated leadership qualities from a young age. At the age of 27, she was assigned to command a helicopter division to serve as an aid to hurricane Andrew in Florida.

She used to be a training officer for a pilot pilot training school for the US Navy, also an assistant commander in the airship on the USS Saipan. After more than six months as a flight engineer in the first space mission, Williams was appointed by NASA to be the deputy director of the astronaut.

Recalling the time of coaching, Williams shared her biggest challenge of learning Russian. All astronauts on the ISS must speak English and Russian fluently, especially when the only way to go to ISS is the Soyuz spacecraft. Good communication is not enough, they must understand all specialized terms and documents in Russian, to ensure the ability to operate devices on ISS.

Astronaut Scott Kelly trained in Soyuz simulator compartment.(Photo: NASA).

Although astronauts' income is only 50% of civil aviation pilots, despite the stressful, dangerous working environment and the relentless effort, the number of applications will certainly increase. up in the future. Challenges, expectations, fame, opportunities to make history or inspire others are the factors that make up the attraction of space travel.

"The greatest reward for astronauts is the opportunity to see the Earth from the universe with its own eyes . It is a complete experience of life change that is less than 600 people on Earth", astronauts NASA family member said.