The people who work in space
Find out more about astronauts and what they do in space.
On 20 July 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Fifty-five years later, humans are still exploring space. China has achieved lots of exciting things recently, including landing a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon – and even taking fish to the Chinese space station to see how they adapt to space. The head of NASA (the US space agency), Bill Nelson, said that the US and China are in a “space race” to see who can return humans to the Moon first, but let’s see how you get into space in the first place.
When did humans first go to space?
The first artificial satellite (a man-made object that is placed into orbit by rockets) to be sent into space from Earth was Sputnik 1, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. The Soviet Union was a country made up of Russia and its nearby neighbours. At this time, there was fierce rivalry between the Soviet Union and the US. It was the Soviet Union that first launched a person to space – Yuri Gagarin in 1961. The first British astronaut was Helen Sharman, a scientist who was sent to do research on a space station called Mir in 1991.
How do you become an astronaut?
Lots of people want to be astronauts. The European Space Agency (ESA) revealed that it had more than 22,000 applicants for just 17 positions. There are a few requirements that people must meet to become an astronaut. They need to pass physical health and fitness tests and be willing to do flight training. It’s also helpful if, as well as speaking fluent English, they can speak a bit of Russian. This is because both English and Russian are used on the International Space
Station (ISS) where, at the moment, most astronauts go to work. Astronauts usually have a university degree in a science subject such as biology, chemistry, engineering, maths, medicine or physics.
How do astronauts prepare?
Astronauts go through lots of training before their first trip to space; in fact, they’ll train for three to four years. New recruits will learn all about space technology, medical skills and how the ISS works. NASA has a full size mock-up (model version) of the ISS where its astronauts can train. Recruits also have to get used to the feeling of weightlessness. There is very little gravity in space, so astronauts float around in spacecraft or on stations like Mir and the ISS. Astronauts on the ISS usually spend between six months and a year in space, but the longest time someone has spent in space continuously is 437 days. Astronauts prepare for these trips by going on special aircraft flights that recreate weightlessness. During the flights, they practise tasks that they would do in space, so they can get used to it. These low-gravity conditions can also be recreated underwater, so trainees often work in special pools.
What is life like in space?
Astronauts have lots to do when they’re in space. They need to carry out scientific experiments and maintain the spacecraft that they’re flying in. Being in space can have some negative effects on the human body, so astronauts must exercise for two hours a day to make sure they stay fit and healthy. In the next few years, space agencies plan to send humans back to the Moon and possibly even to Mars.