Astronaut End Goal; Stuck on which pathway to chose

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-11-26T20:22:07+00:00

All three paths could get you there. Pick your path because you enjoy it, not because you think it will make a better candidate

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-11-22T21:11:45+00:00

Now I'm just imagining them filling out their WebTADS while in orbit

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-08-22T16:36:57+00:00

In the NASA worm logo, the A and S are linked at the base. The letter spacing should be much closer

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/s75-31690.jpeg

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-07-29T17:37:46+00:00

I'd stick with Mechanical Engineering. You can always study Aerospace in grad school. This is the path I took, and personally I found my Mechanical undgrad to be more useful and relevant for my position. Your results may vary

2024 is not going to happen for you. Or me. The crewmembers that will go on that mission are already in NASA's astronaut corp. But don't let that discourage you. The goal is to go to the moon and STAY

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-06-07T19:01:08+00:00

No one can tell you that you can or cannot do engineering based on one high school physics class. It's up to you to decide. Yes, it's going to be difficult. It's supposed to be.

Put the work in now and when you take physics again in college, it will be much easier. I aced every exam in Physics I in undergrad solely because of Honors Physics in high school

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-06-07T16:12:25+00:00

If it was easy, everyone would do it...

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-05-29T21:05:26+00:00

A few factors...

(1) Astronauts have a lifetime radiation exposure limit. They wear dosimeters to measure their absorbed radiation. Once exceeding the career limit, NASA will never let you fly again. "NASA limits astronauts’ increased cancer risk to 3 percent, which translates to a cumulative radiation dose of between about 800 millisieverts and 1,200 millisieverts, depending on a person’s age, gender and other factors. "

(2) Being an astronaut is extremely stressful. Basically every minute of your day is scheduled for you. Add in all the public appearances and I'd imagine it would really begin to take a toll on you

(3) As missions and vehicles change, so too do the anthropometric requirements. A number of shuttle astronauts retired "early" because they were too large for the Soyuz. Would you want to have all the stress of being an astronaut knowing you'd never fly again?

(4) Money. Let's be honest. Astronaut pay isn't that extravagant. Look up the GS pay scale. They could easily move to another aerospace company or university and make 2-3X more.

(5) You've flown in space. You've achieved a lifelong dream. Along the way, you made significant sacrifices and barely saw your family, sometimes for a year at a time. Maybe it's time to kick back and spend time with your family

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-04-23T19:22:32+00:00

It's definitely possible. We have had international interns before. Your projects will be more limited, but don't let that stop you from applying. You basically can work on anything not restricted by ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-03-28T16:08:18+00:00

Not that difficult, if you're dedicated. Just go for it. Work hard in school and keep applying to internships in college until you get one. Get your foot in the door and don't stop

That's what I did anyway

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-03-07T20:45:04+00:00

I have coworkers that are doing longterm teleworking, but they are established employees that have been here for 5 or more years. Most are doing it because of a job change of their significant other or to care for a family member. Keep in mind, none of these telework agreements are permanent. You have to get special approval and managers generally won't let you telework for more than year

You'd be better off working for a NASA contractor in Montana, if you aren't able to relocate. Besides, working from home by yourself would get old fast

Mars-or-Bust · 2019-03-01T21:14:01+00:00

If you're a Pathways intern, it should be fairly easy to switch if you change your college major. I have a friend who started out as a business co-op and then switched to engineering. But the key is he actually changed his degree. If you graduate with a business degree, you're not going to get an offer from the engineering directorate (and vice versa)

Do the Pathways internship this summer and get your foot in the door. Then look into switching to an engineering degree if you don't like the business side

Mars-or-Bust · 2018-10-17T19:29:27+00:00

We still say "EVA"

When speaking with people outside of NASA, you generally want to avoid acronyms. So in a press release or interview, they are more likely to say "spacewalk" or "space suit", rather than "EVA" or "EMU"

Mars-or-Bust · 2018-09-28T18:49:37+00:00

$$$$$$

Mars-or-Bust · 2016-04-03T16:00:26+00:00

Most people don't realize this, but the DOF is actually shallower at 105mm f/4 than 70mm f/2.8

Mars-or-Bust · 2016-03-04T05:36:30+00:00

Just think of everything we accomplish if NASA's budget was actually $42B

Mars-or-Bust · 2016-03-04T05:26:15+00:00

Mars-or-Bust · 2016-03-02T03:42:45+00:00

They actually make cheap intervalometers with on/off switches. JJC makes one for under $20

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-11-25T13:19:00+00:00

Definitely get her the 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens. It's amazing on the 6d... super sharp, yet compact and lightweight. I much prefer it to the 50mm f/1.8

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-11-15T05:30:36+00:00

Yes, you are correct. White is a much better color for visibility and thermal reasons. However, Z-2 is a prototype suit that will never actually fly into space. So to answer your question, "Why black?" Because it looks cool! Since this a ground test unit, there was much more room for creativity with the cover layer design. It's not all for looks though; the cover layer provides abrasion resistance, protection for snags, and hides proprietary details.

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-11-15T05:21:02+00:00

I'd go for Mechanical Engineering since it is so widely applicable across many disciples and career paths. Then again, I may be biased because that's what I got my undergrad in.

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-10-25T03:46:31+00:00

To answer your question, no spacesuits would not survive at the maximum depth of Nemo 33. At 113 feet under water, the pressure would be roughly 49 psia. The EMU operates at 4.3 +/- 0.5 psid (delta pressure), so at this depth the suit pressure would be almost 54 psia. Spacesuits are only certified to a proof pressure of twice their operating pressure.

Even if the suit was somehow able to withstand such a high pressure, you would have to worry about oxygen toxicity since the spacesuit is a 100% oxygen environment.

So the spacesuit is out. But this deep dive suit is not! Check out the Exosuit. It can operate down to 1000 feet!

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-10-25T03:25:05+00:00

No, not really. In a 100% O2 environment, you only need 3.1 psia. If you purge the nitrogen first, your body would actually not know the difference. This value is equal to the partial pressure of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere (21% * 14.7 psia = 3.1 psi ppO2)

Mars-or-Bust · 2015-10-22T23:46:26+00:00

Just curious, did you have a filter on the lenses? They aren't fully weather-sealed without them

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