All about Astronauts By: Emily Smith

Astronauts Requirements Each crew of each launched spacecraft is made up of astronauts or cosmonauts, they are drawn from the various categories. The crew assignments and duties of commander, pilot, mission specialist, or payload specialist are drawn from the NASA professional career astronauts. Mission Applicants for the Astronaut Candidate Program must be citizens of the United States.

Pilot Astronauts Pilot astronauts serve as both Space Shuttle and International Space Station commanders and pilots These are the basics requirements for Pilot astronauts: 1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important. 2. At least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Flight test experience is highly desirable. 3. Ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards.

Mission Specialists Mission specialist astronauts work with the commander and the pilot and have the overall responsibility for coordinating operations in the these following areas: systems, crew activity planning, consumables usage, and experiment/payload operations. Mission specialists are trained in the details of the onboard systems, as well as the operational characteristics, mission requirements/ objectives, and supporting equipment/systems for each of the experiments conducted on their assigned missions. Mission specialists perform extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, operate the remote manipulator system, and are responsible for payloads and specific experiment operations.

Mission Specialists Requirements 1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. Degree must be followed by at least three years of related, progressively responsible, professional experience. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for part or all of the experience requirement Quality of academic preparation is important. 2. Ability to pass a NASA space physical, which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards: Distance visual acuity: 20/200 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20, each eye. Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position. 3. Height between 58.5 and 76 inches.

Payload Specialists Payload specialists are persons other than NASA who have specialized onboard duties; they may be added to shuttle crews if activities that have unique requirements are involved and more than the minimum crew size of five is needed. First consideration for additional crew members is given to qualified NASA mission specialists. When payload specialists are required they are nominated by NASA, the foreign sponsor, or the designated payload sponsor. In the case of NASA or NASA-related payloads, the nominations are based on the recommendations of the appropriate Investigator Working Group (IWG). Although payload specialists are not part of the Astronaut Candidate Program, they must have the appropriate education and training related to the payload or experiment. All applicants must meet certain physical requirements and must pass NASA space physical examinations with varying standards depending on classification.

Pilot Astronauts Picture The seven STS-121 astronauts take a break from training to pose for the crew portrait. From the left are astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Michael Fossum, both mission specialists; Steven Lindsey, commander; Piers Sellers, mission specialist; Mark Kelly, pilot; European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany; and Lisa Nowak, both mission specialists

Mission Specialists Picture Image above: (From left) Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick, Pilot Terry Virts, Mission Specialists Robert Behnken and Kathryn Hire, Commander George Zamka and Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson. Image credit: NASA

Payload Astronauts Picture Five NASA astronauts and two scientists serving as payload specialists have been named to fly aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, for NASA's STS-40 mission. Astronaut Bryan D. O'Connor (rear left) is the mission commander, and Sidney M. Gutierrez (rear right) is the pilot. Others are (front, left to right) Payload Specialist F. Drew Gaffney, Payload Specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford, Mission Specialist (MS) M. Rhea Seddon, MS James P. Bagian, and MS Tamara E. Jernigan (rear center).