Astronaut for Hire

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 ...

NASA opened the 2015-16 astronaut selection opportunity on USAJOBS . Applications are due February 18, and details are on astronauts.nasa.gov . Good luck to all who apply! I wrote an article called " The Astronaut Hopeful's Manifesto: An Applicant's Guide " on Forbes with some advice to applicants. Check it out!

I just returned from California where I participated in a NASA InSight Science Team meeting. InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is NASA’s first dedicated geophysical mission to Mars. Keep reading to learn more! A key goal of planetary science is to understand the formation and evolution of the planets, which means we need to know what they are made of. Geology, geochemistry, geodesy, and geophysics are tools that we can use to get at questions associated with the structure and composition of planetary interiors. Previous and current Mars missions have utilized all of these approaches except geophysics, which is the only technique that can give direct measurements about what is beneath the surface. InSight will help us determine the size, composition, and state of the crust, mantle, and core while also measuring the thermal state of the interior and level of seismic activity on Mars. Watch the video below to learn more abou...

NASA has awarded the University of North Dakota (UND) Department of Space Studies with the JSC Certificate of Appreciation in recognition for 25 years of outstanding leadership in university education in space studies, aerospace workforce development, and for accomplishments in interdisciplinary aerospace research. It is the highest award that the Johnson Space Center (JSC) bestows upon non-individual groups. As a UND Space Studies graduate myself, I want to personally congratulate everyone involved with the program on their well-earned recognition. The 23 July 2013 awards ceremony at JSC was well-attended by UND alumni and students in the Houston area. Dr. Paul Lindseth, Associate Dean of the UND School of Aerospace Studies , Dr. Santhosh Seelan, Chair of the Department Space Studies , and Mr. Josh Christianson, Director of Alumni Affairs, accepted the award on behalf of all current and former UND Space Studies faculty, staff, and students. You can see them pictured below h...

NASA announced the 2013 Class of Astronaut Candidates (ASCAN's) today. I want to extend a hearty congratulations to them all and wish them well in the intensive training that lies ahead. Without further ado, I present NASA's newest ASCAN's: Josh A. Cassada, Ph. D. , 39, is originally from White Bear Lake, Minn. Cassada is a former naval aviator who holds an undergraduate degree from Albion College, and advanced degrees from the University of Rochester, N.Y. Cassada is a physicist by training and currently is serving as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for Quantum Opus. Victor J. Glover , 37, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy, hails from Pomona, Calif., and Prosper, Texas. He is an F/A-18 pilot and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Glover holds degrees from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Air University and Naval Postgraduate School. He currently is serving as a Navy Legislative Fellow in the U.S. Congress. Tyler ...

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...

A year after I submitted my second astronaut application to NASA, it would seem my journey in the current selection has come to an end. Multiple reports have confirmed that NASA has already chosen and brought in all interviewees to Houston as of last week. I wish all applicants still in the running the best of luck going forward. Earlier today, I spoke with NPR's Jacki Lyden on All Things Considered about my astronaut ambitions and the current NASA astronaut selection. Bracketed by great soundbytes from Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey , the story addressed the future of NASA and tackles how commercial space endeavors will usher in a new era of human space exploration. Other people interviewed in the 11-minute segment include astronauts John Grunsfeld and Michael López-Alegría . Listen here : Podcast Powered By Podbean One of the things we talked about during the interview was how competitive it is to become an astronaut. Here's how the current s...

As the year winds down, and we all get busy with our holiday traditions, the business of choosing NASA's 21st astronaut class carries on. Since October, NASA has been bringing interviewees to Houston in groups of 20 for further medical screenings, performance testing, and of course interviews with the selection board. Altogether, there are 6 groups of interviewees for a total of 120 candidates out of the 6372 total applicants. I checked with the Astronaut Selection Office, and they confirmed that they have called nearly all of the interviewees. They just have a handful more to call to fill out the January interview groups. If you are a Highly Qualified applicant awaiting that call from NASA like me , you can hold out hope for a little while longer that you might be among this small number of yet-to-be-contacted interviewees. The first round of interviews will wrap up in late January, and then NASA will narrow its selection to about 50 finalists who will be called back to ...

NASA will take an extra month to whittle down its approximately 400 Highly Qualified applicants to the 100 or so it plans to interview. That's what I infer from from the latest update to the Astronaut Candidate Selection Process Timeline . Interviewees will now be brought to JSC through January instead of December, with finalists determined by February and the new ASCAN class announced by June. These changes are noted by the red color in the updated table below. The report date for the Astronaut Candidate Class of 2013 remains August 2013. Good luck, everyone! November 15, 2011 Vacancy Announcement opens at USAJOBS . January 27, 2012 Vacancy Announcement closes. May-September 2012 Qualified Applications reviewed to determine Highly Qualified applicants. Qualifications Inquiry form sent to Supervisors / References and civilian applicants contacted by mail to obtain an FAA medical exam. August- December 2012 Highly Qualified applications reviewed to determine I...

As the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity start to wind down their immensely successful 8+ year mission , NASA's newest and most capable robotic planetary mission the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, dubbed 'Curiosity', has safely landed on the surface of the Red Planet. Packed with ten science instruments to explore geology and detect the building blocks of life, Curiosity is a six-wheeled radioisotope-powered vehicle about the size of a car. On the way down, its Mars Descent Imager ( MARDI ) impressively captured the rover's descending the surface in this time lapse video  and high-resolution image . Even more remarkable was the fact that the  HiRISE camera in orbit snapped a photograph of the rover and its parachute during their descent and later found the discarded heat shield, parachute, and sky crane in their final resting places on the martian surface. The sky crane , by the way, was the most unusual and risky part of this mission...

Humans history is a story of exploration and expansion, whereby we have used our resourcefulness to settle nearly every environment on Earth. To accomplish these migrations, people have had to live off the land by hunting for food, gathering building materials, and mining resources needed for survival. It just wouldn't be practical or economical to bring everything you need with you. Space is the same way. Like on Earth, we will have to learn to use materials found in the space environment to become permanent residents of the extraterrestrial realm, rather than temporary campers . As I mentioned in the last post , I went to Hawai'i Island last week to take part in NASA's in situ resource utilization (ISRU) lunar rover field testing, facilitated by the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems ( PISCES ) on the flank of Mauna Kea . The mission simulation successfully showed that a rover arriving on the surface of the Moon can find and verify the exi...

I will be on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii next week working with the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) . As I've described in previous posts , PISCES is an international research and education consortium headquartered at the University of Hawaii at Hilo that aims to develop, test, and validate technologies for use on the Moon, Mars and beyond. When humans return to the Moon and journey to Mars, they will have to live off the land. It's just too costly to bring everything we need with us. That includes rocket fuel for the return trip, water, oxygen, and other consumables. Thus, it is critical that we learn how to utilize in situ resources if we are to establish permanent presences on other worlds. As a geophysicist by profession, my interest lies with applying my terrestrial geophysical exploration knowledge to other planetary bodies. To this end, I carried out experiments at FMARS in 2009 and MDRS in 2010 to study the human f...

image credit: SpaceX Two weeks ago SpaceX made history by successfully sending its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) and returning it safely to Earth. Like so many others, I was glued to NASA TV throughout the critical mission phases watching as history unfolded. This marks a real turning point in the commercial development of low Earth orbit. Although this was a cargo demonstration mission, it will pave the way for manned flights in both the private and public sectors, which is good news for NASA astronauts since they need a ride to the ISS. "Dragon took one giant leap last week in restoring an American path to space." That's what Astronaut Tom Jones had to say in a recent Popular Mechanics article . Against the backdrop of the SpaceX achievement, Southern California Public Radio interviewed me for a story titled "Dream jobs: What's it like to be an astronaut?" The 7-minute comprehensive story also includes stateme...

When I was in middle school, I had the opportunity to visit Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The first thing I did when I got there was ask where the zero gravity room was. Unfortunately, it turned out that such a room didn't exist, but I learned that astronauts do train in zero gravity aboard parabolic flights . Ever since I have wanted to get on one of those flights to experience the freedom of floating in microgravity and better appreciate what it takes to train as an astronaut. Now that dream has come true. There are two ways one can get on a parabolic flight. If you have a few thousand dollars to burn, you can purchase a flight as a tourist with the Zero Gravity Corporation for 15 parabolas - or about 6 minutes - of reduced gravity fun. I was tantalizing close to making that happen in 2010, but it just didn't work out. The other way to fly in microgravity is to get involved with a research or education program requiring parabolic flight. If you are a K-12 te...

It's done. I've tossed my name in the hopper for consideration as a 2013 NASA Astronaut Candidate. I wish all applicants the best of luck.

While polishing my 2013 NASA Astronaut Candidate application, I noticed the space agency had posted a new astronaut recruitment video plugging the current application opportunity. Enjoy! "Your spaceflight experience begins right here, right now." -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden There are only 10 days left until the January 27 deadline. Good luck to one and all!

New years are always time of thoughtful backward reflection and optimistic forward projection. January 2012 will be an active time for astronaut hopefuls in the US as we prepare our NASA applications . The past four years have certainly been a busy time for me. Listed below are some of the things I've done since submitting the 2008 application : gained 4 more years of operational experience at the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center , including the Samoa 2009 , Chile 2010 , and Japan 2011 events; participated in the FMARS-12 analog Mars expedition to Devon Island; commanded the MDRS-89 analog Mars mission in Utah; co-founded Astronauts4Hire ; completed my MS degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota ; voyaged across the Pacific Ocean and mapped the seafloor aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer ; completed Dunker and Sea Survival Training at Survival Systems USA ; completed Suborbital Scientist Training at The NASTAR Center ; obtained a space ...

If you've ever dreamed of being a NASA astronaut to live on the International Space Station and maybe one day explore a world beyond low earth orbit, now is your chance to make it happen. As expected , NASA issued a  press release earlier today officially kicking off its 2011-2012 application opportunity. All materials are due to the Astronaut Office by January 27, 2011, so I recommend wasting no time to read the Application Guide , dust off your resume, and call your references. Speaking of references, you may want to take a look at JSC Form 726 to get an idea of what kinds of questions NASA might ask them.  Applications are only accepted through  USAJOBS announcement #JS12A0001 .  See the full selection process timeline  here  or at at  astronauts.nasa.gov .  Minimum qualification requirements for 2012 applicants are the same as in 2008: Bachelor's degree in an applicable field 3 years professional experience (or a combinati...

NASA announced earlier this week that it will seek a new class of astronaut candidates starting in November 2011 for selection around March 2013.  While the focus is on providing crewmembers to support the International Space Station (ISS), the announcement specifically mentions that the new astronauts will participate in missions "beyond low Earth orbit" too.  With the Shuttle now retired and NASA's future plans somewhat in question, I think it's encouraging that NASA is advertising this class as the first to potentially take part in missions to destinations beyond the ISS in the 2020-2025 timeframe.  Since that likely means field exploration on asteroid and lunar surfaces leading up to martian missions, maybe NASA will place higher importance on selecting astronauts with a geoscience background this time. The head of NASA's Astronaut Selection Office Duane Ross offered some details on the scope expected for the new crop of astronauts: “The new class wil...

It's been 10 years since that horrific day when commercial airlines were used as coordinated weapons of terrorism. I was a second year graduate student at the time, balancing academic and research duties between expeditions to the South Pacific and the Antarctic. Like most Americans, I spent September 11, 2001 feeling shellshocked as I awoke to the news and spent the day watching events unfold on television. I later realized how profound and ubiquitous this communal experience was the world over, and I mean that quite literally. One American has the singular distinction of witnessing the traumatic 9/11 events unfold from space. A month into his mission as Commander of ISS Expedition 3 , Astronaut Frank Culbertson awoke to the news of the attacks like so many of us did. He grabbed the nearest camera and starting photographing the scenes in New York and Washington, D.C. from his vantage point some 250 miles over the Earth. Since he happened to be using a video camera, Culber...