Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) logo.
Credit: Reuters FilePhoto
Bengaluru: People aspiring for careers as astronauts need to make a long-term commitment to science and not be distracted by the glamour and celebrity involved in the profession, IAF Group Captain Angad Pratap, designated Gaganyaan astronaut, said on Friday.
Delivering an online talk on ‘Who can become an astronaut?’, he detailed processes that go into the making of an astronaut and urged the aspirants to put “science before self”. Group Captain Pratap is one of the four astronauts designated for India’s ambitious human spaceflight programme.
Underlining the preparations ahead of space travel, he noted that 85 per cent of the science practised by an astronaut happens on the ground. While the core qualities that make a person fit to be an astronaut include skilled knowledge sets, cognitive skills, aviation skills, and physical fitness, the training also focuses extensively on critical thinking, psychological training and stress management.
ISRO’s astronaut training regimen covers diverse disciplines, from yoga and supervised nutrition to para-jumping and space suit training, he said.
The physical training – which takes more than three hours of an astronaut’s eight-hour work day – includes cardio, callisthenics, high-intensity interval training, weight and balance training, swimming, and team games.
“The selection process involves hundreds of criteria; usually, it is the medical evaluation that plays spoilsport on the prospects of the candidates,” Group Captain Pratap said.
The top selection considerations include academic competence, meaningful science research, skillsets in domains like robotics and programming languages, proficiency in foreign languages, achievements in sport, non-technical qualifications, and professional jet-flying experience.
He said people from experimental domains, like scientists involved in direct aerospace research, medicinal and other researchers from the academia, and military aviators could emerge as strong candidates.
ISRO organised the talk as part of the World Space Week celebration.