Who has not ever thought about what the experience of traveling to space would be like ? It is the dream of many and the privilege of only a few. However, getting there is not an easy path, as these lucky chosen ones work really hard to see their wish fulfilled.
Astronauts are forced to prepare for years to a lot of extreme tests and training, which few are trained to do, to exercise both physically and psychologically before taking off into the deep and intriguing cosmos.
His instruction collects hundreds of hours of practice . The European Space Agency (ESA) divides this process into three main areas . First, aspiring astronauts must pass a basic training course lasting approximately one year.
It is not just any course, since these candidates study subjects such as space science and technology, basic medicine, diving techniques and also acquire knowledge about the operation of the International Space Station (ISS, for its acronym in English).
Once this phase is completed, the applicants face another year to an advanced course to deepen in aspects of the ISS, as well as in the study and development of the experiments and the transport vehicles and the participation of the ground control center in the missions. .
Finally, they are assigned a royal mission . Over the course of several years, future ‘universe explorers’ cooperate with other crew members by learning the special tasks related to the job assigned to them. In this way, they become familiar with the multiple tasks and challenges that they will carry out during their trip, such as the continuous weightlessness, participating in parabolic flights.
Astronauts get to know their peers very well as they visit training centers in the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe . In addition, if all the above were not enough, they learn a foreign language (English is mandatory) to facilitate communication between the team itself. One of the most common is Russian.
It is incredible how much they have to overcome to have the opportunity to dedicate themselves to their great passion, traveling through space. The most surprising thing is that these people never stop facing challenges. Once they get on the ship and set off to their destination, the real hard adventure begins .
To get you a little closer to the mysteries of astronauts’ day-to-day lives, we have prepared this photo gallery with curiosities and historical data about this surprising profession .
