About

Aloha and welcome!

My lifelong goal is to live and work in space as an astronaut. I started the "Astronaut for Hire" blog back in 2007 to chronicle my progress through the NASA astronaut application and selection process. I passed through the first few stages of selection and made it to the "Highly Qualified" round (top 3-13%) before being cut. In the process I met lots of great people who share this passion, and it has changed my life. In 2009 and 2010, I took part in the FMARS and MDRS simulated Mars missions and recently co-founded an exciting new organization to develop the commercial astronaut workforce called "Astronaut4Hire". Again in 2012, I made it to the Highly Qualified stage of NASA's astronaut selection, but I am undeterred that the advances I am making will enhance my chances going forward. In 2014, I will be an Atlantica Expedition crewmember in an underwater habitat off the coast of Florida. This blog continues to track my activities and musings as I make my own way to space, opening the frontier for more people.

completing the Boston Marathon
At my heart I am an explorer, always thirsting for adventure in far-off corners of the world. My expeditions have taken me near the North and South Poles in the Arctic and Antarctic, throughout equatorial Pacific islands, and to many places in between. I was even part of a small team to first discover and report a major volcanic eruption just days after I had been the last person on the small volcanic island. Space is the next frontier I plan to explore.

My main hobby is running. I have 6 marathons under my belt, including the highly competitive Boston Marathon (pictured here), and over 70 shorter races. I'm also a recreational cyclist and have been known to partake in the occasional triathlon. My favorite places are mountains, and I can never get enough snow. I'm a trained climber and mountaineer with glacier-trekking and minor mountain-climbing experience in both Alaska and Antarctica. Having grown up in an aviation family, I am a Private Pilot and also hold several SCUBA dive certifications. When I can, I also like to go hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and skiing too.

Presenting to the UN COPUOS
My professional background spans the physical, earth, and planetary sciences. I'm interested in plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, impacts, and the interiors of terrestrial planets. I also like science policy and hope to help shape the government's science goals and priorities someday. The common theme in my interests is a belief that science--including scientific exploration--should improve society. That's why I am particularly passionate about natural disaster mitigation using space technologies and the synergies between ocean and space exploration. I think we have an obligation to excite the next generation about science, so I enjoy teaching students and attending events like career and science fairs a few times per year. I am regularly interviewed by the news media, and my work has recently been highlighted in two video profiles here and here.

I try my best to live sustainably and help others to do the same. I believe we can all do more to reduce our footprints on the Earth and leave it in better condition for our descendants. A native of Arkansas who transplanted to the Midwest, I now live in Hawaii with my wife and two young children. If you have questions about earth science, space exploration, sustainable living, natural parenting or anything else, let me know.



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Insider tips on NASA's astronaut selection

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While NASA wraps up interviewing the second group of finalists to determine its 2013 class of ASCANs, the head of the NASA Astronaut Selection Office Duane Ross gave an illuminating presentation at JSC last Thursday about the selection process.  He covered questions ranging from academic degrees to interview questions, medical screening, and Russian language requirements. Pete Dimmick was among those present in the audience. Here are his notes from the event, reprinted with permission: Today I attended a lecture by Duane Ross and his protege, Anne Roemer. Duane has been the head of the astronaut selection process for 37 years and I had a few minutes to speak with them after the lecture was over. Here is what I found out about becoming an astronaut. I won't discuss so much the published requirements, rather I'll be focusing more on the insider things. There have been 257 NASA astronauts over the years and an applicant has a 0.6% chance of being selected. Of those no...
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The Astronaut Hopeful's Manifesto

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I am an astronaut hopeful – one of thousands of people who somehow never outgrew our childhood dream of going to space. Anyone can hope to be an astronaut, but to be an “astronaut hopeful” one must make a commitment to the goal and proactively work towards becoming an astronaut. The road is long and the outcome is uncertain, but it is in trying to achieve this lofty ambition that we learn to become our best selves. Astronauts train to be some of the most focused, resourceful, healthy and dependable people on the planet. Striving to be more like them can help any person to be more effective in life’s pursuits. Making the decision to do everything one can to actually become an astronaut means learning from astronaut role models and making incremental decisions throughout your life that get you closer to your dream. This week NASA began accepting applications to recruit another class of astronaut candidates (ASCAN’s). More than 6,300 people applied during the last opportunity, from ...
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Space Studies Showdown: ISU vs. UND

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--> Please note that this comparison from 2008 is no longer currently applicable to the current programs offered by ISU and UND. An updated post comparing programs in 2014 is coming very soon! I've been getting a lot of questions lately about the similarities and differences between the International Space University (ISU) and University of North Dakota (UND) space studies masters programs. As someone who has been a student in both universities (ISU SSP '05 and UND MS '10), I am in a good position to compare them. Note that although I was accepted into the ISU masters program, I decided to only attend their Summer Session Program (SSP) instead, so my firsthand ISU perspective is from the SSP rather than the masters. Over a year has passed since I blogged about my decision to join the UND Space Studies distance program. At the halfway point, I can report that I am overall quite happy with it so far. Before getting started, I'd like to thank the folks at ...
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