My job is pretty great!
I get to learn about amazing animals and places, and do fun experiments with all of you!
And you know another job that seems really great?
You might even say it’s out of this world?
Being an astronaut!
Astronauts are people who travel and work in space.
Going to space seems like a big adventure—and it is -- but that’s not why astronauts go
to space.
At least, it’s not the main reason.
Astronauts go to space so they can learn more about what’s beyond our planet.
They spend weeks, months, or even a whole year away from their friends and family to
study space in person.
Then, they come back home and share their new knowledge with all of us!
Do you want to go to space?
If you do, maybe you want to know exactly what it takes to be an astronaut, and what
they do up there all day, before you sign up.
Let’s find out what it takes to be an astronaut!
The fact is, practically anybody can become an astronaut -- you don’t even have to be
a certain age!
You just have to have a few main things under your belt.
For one thing, you have to have studied science in college -- which means, you pretty much
have to be a grown up, or a young adult.
You also have to have spent some time -- specifically, three years -- actually doing the science
that you’ve studied.
That’s because most astronauts are actually scientists!
And there are all kinds of scientists who work in space -- some of which we’ve talked
about before!
-- like biologists …
… or astronomers …
… or chemists!
Finally, to be an astronaut, you have to go through a special physical check-up.
Because, living in space, where you’re always floating around in low gravity, and in a crowded
spacecraft, can be really hard on your body.
So everyone wants to make sure you’re healthy enough to do it.
But that’s about it!
Thousands of people sign up to become astronauts, but only a very few are actually chosen to
go on a mission.
After years of training, those lucky few finally get sent to space—where they have some really
important jobs to do.
What kinds of jobs are there?
Well, some astronauts are pilots -- their job is to get the spacecraft where it needs
to go safely.
They’re also in charge of getting the craft back to Earth.
Astronauts that aren’t pilots are called mission specialists.
And they perform a lot of different jobs.
One of those jobs is to work with the pilots to keep the spaceship and equipment working.
This means they inspect the spacecraft and its different parts every day to make sure
everything is doing just what it’s supposed to do.
Another job for mission specialists is doing experiments -- where scientists try different
things to see what happens!
Many of these experiments are done in the International Space Station, or ISS.
The ISS is in orbit around the Earth, and was built for astronauts to work and live
in for long periods of time.
Some of the experiments that have been done on the space station have been things like
growing zucchinis, to see how vegetables grow in space.
Other scientists have looked at how different animals -- like flies, or even squids -- get
used to life in space.
Another important job astronauts do is to help launch satellites.
These are machines that fly in orbit around the Earth.
And they can do all sorts of things -- like take pictures of the Earth, or help us know
what the weather’s going to be like, or send signals for television and radio.
Now, most of the time, astronauts do their jobs inside the space station or their spacecraft.
But for some jobs, astronauts have to suit up—and go for a spacewalk!
A spacewalk is when an astronaut leaves the spacecraft to do their job outside, in space,
and it’s one of the toughest jobs that astronauts do.
Astronauts do spacewalks when they need to fix, or build, something on the outside of
a spacecraft.
And to do that, they have to wear special space suits.
There’s no air in space, and it’s really, really cold, so these special suits protect
the astronauts from the cold and give them air to breathe.
They’re also protected by being tethered, or tied to, the spacecraft by a long cables
to keep them from floating away.
Being an astronaut sounds like hard work!
But you get to see our planet from space, and conduct awesome experiments, work on cool
technology every day, and even go for spacewalks.
So what do you think?
Do YOU want to be an astronaut?
Keep learning as much as you can about space and science, and who knows?
One day, it might be you up there.
And let us help you get there!
If you have a question for us about space, or … well, any question, really!
… just let us know by leaving a comment below or sending us an email to kids@thescishow.com
and we’ll see ya next time!