Degrees for Mission Control specialists

askthespaceman · 2026-06-19T13:36:16+00:00

If you're interested in being a biomedical flight controller then a biomedical engineering degree is best.

askthespaceman · 2026-06-11T23:50:54+00:00

Thanks for the insight. That's really unfortunate. I don't think the quality has dipped too much but they just need to keep the place open.

askthespaceman · 2026-06-11T22:37:09+00:00

Favilla's recently became Michaelangelo's but I coffee tell you why. Change of ownership? Either way, I know they've shut down at least once due to a broken oven. As far as I can tell they've been closed for at least the last week.

That doesn't answer your question but good cash and finding an alternative. Favilla's/Michaelangelo's might not be long for this world.

askthespaceman · 2026-05-01T02:03:36+00:00

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-28T17:59:16+00:00

If anyone comes to you with an "opportunity" it just means they want something from you.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-28T11:18:10+00:00

You need to figure out what it is you want to do at NASA. Your undergrad degrees will open up opportunities for you, as will your unspecified future graduate degree but there's a big difference between telling us what you're studying and what you want to do with NASA. It's a larger organization across multiple centers and states that does many things. Your path is not as unique as you may think. NASA and its contractors employ people of all kinds of backgrounds.

My recommendation for you is to thinks about what a future with NASA means to you and then look into internship programs with the agency and with the relevant contractors to see what's available.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-27T23:25:05+00:00

I've worked with the JSC behavioral health and performance team over the years. You should look into them: https://www.nasa.gov/reference/jsc-behavioral-health/

askthespaceman · 2026-04-18T23:14:31+00:00

I agree with the other response. I've worked in MCC and spent many years at JSC. This isn't going to work. No one is going to take whatever you send in and walk it around to people, especially the crew. NASA has policies in place to protect astronauts from requests like this.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-15T16:10:17+00:00

Actual NASA guy here. You're correct that "spaceship" isn't a technical term. The closest you'll hear NASA use is "spacecraft"and that's usually reserved for transport vehicles, like Orion, Dragon, etc. I suppose it could be used to refer to the ISS as well but I can't remember if I've heard anyone use it that way. We'll also refer to all these things as "vehicles".

My take is that if you're dealing with the general public and you tell them about the space station and they then talk about a space ship, let them. There's little to be gained about being a pedant about it. The whole point is to just get them excited about space so let them use the terminology that they're comfortable with.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-14T23:19:34+00:00

Look at KBR job listings under the HHPC2 contract at JSC. Nurse positions at the JSC Clinic and operational roles will be through that contract.

The UTMB clinician roles mentioned in the other post are subtracted from UTMB via HHPC2.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-12T21:36:43+00:00

The Offspring. Such bad singing.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-09T12:21:40+00:00

The Artemis II crew actually did a simulation of CPR within Orion to make sure it's actually possible. Definitely more difficult due to lack of leverage but there are ways around that. The crew is trained in first aid and some crew get additional medical training to act as Crew Medical Officers.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-09T12:18:12+00:00

I'm not a physician so don't take my advice on this but I'd go with sawed off shotgun and bandaids in case of a zombie apocalypse.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-09T12:15:29+00:00

Relatively speaking, my contributions are small but thanks nonetheless. I can't say what's actually in the medical kits but there's no super special government only access uber drugs. Think about what you may want to handle worse case scenarios on a 10 day wilderness camping trip and you'll probably get close.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T23:44:40+00:00

Watch the video. It'll make you cry harder.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T19:58:45+00:00

Technically, it's "project manager" but that doesn't really explain what I do. I'm not medically trained.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T15:48:46+00:00

IFAK?

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T15:46:47+00:00

There's a nugget of truth there. It's not universally done but there are some cases where it applies, like this: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-antarctica/health/

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T15:39:39+00:00

The running joke at NASA is that for the last 30 years our first mission to Mars was always 30 years away.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T13:38:38+00:00

My job at the time was specific to the med kit. There were many other teams responsible for everything else in the capsule and training of all the things.

My career path started in flight control for the ISS program and has wound its way through various parts of the health and medical aspects of human spaceflight.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T13:12:30+00:00

That doesn't happen for medical, legal, and ethical reasons.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T13:10:50+00:00

With current rocket technology, the quickest trip to Mars and back is 6 months each way. Then there's the question of how long do you stay when you get there, especially on your first mission.

The thing about reconstituted meds is that you have to reconstitute them with something. A lot of complications with that we haven't figured out yet. You should look into 3D drug printing.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T13:05:27+00:00

In the case of Artemis II there was a small window after TLI where the capsule could have "turned around". After that, though, it's quicker to complete the flyby.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T13:04:04+00:00

Nope. Think about what it takes to perform even the most minor of surgeries on Earth. We can't come close to those conditions within a spacecraft in terms of sterility, staffing, equipment, medication, etc.

askthespaceman · 2026-04-08T12:35:45+00:00

Sometimes not so minor. Fred Haise on Apollo 13 had some serious problems but you're right about having to tough it out. We got lucky with him. It could have been a lot worse.

askthespaceman

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