NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks with NASA’s astronaut choice supervisor April Jordan about what the company is searching for within the subsequent technology of house vacationers.
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AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Do you daydream in regards to the stars? Do you fantasize about exploring the outer reaches of house? Since its inception, NASA has been searching for folks identical to you. Take this 1977 recruitment video that featured an area shuttle prototype and an iconic actress.
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NICHELLE NICHOLS: Hello, I am Nichelle Nichols, however I nonetheless really feel just a little bit like Lieutenant Uhura on the Starship Enterprise. You realize, now there is a twentieth century Enterprise.
RASCOE: This enchantment from Morgan Freeman was launched only a few weeks in the past.
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MORGAN FREEMAN: Image your self in house…
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FREEMAN: …Contributing to a brand new chapter…
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FREEMAN: …Of human exploration.
RASCOE: The most recent NASA recruiting effort started final month at about the identical time the house company graduated a brand new class of astronauts, a cohort that utilized again in 2020. And now this yr’s deadline for making use of has been prolonged till Tuesday, April 16. So let’s discuss with April Jordan, the supervisor of NASA astronaut choice. Good morning.
APRIL JORDAN: Good morning, Ayesha. Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: Have you learnt how many individuals have utilized because the starting of March?
JORDAN: We’re monitoring the information, and we’re seeing that there are nonetheless a number of clicks which might be coming to our software, which implies individuals are . We’re searching for people which have numerous backgrounds to come back into this position. You realize, I feel generally when folks take into consideration what makes an amazing astronaut, they consider jet pilots, and we actually do want these, however we additionally want people that produce other experiences.
RASCOE: Past schooling and experience, what precisely is NASA searching for in a powerful astronaut candidate?
JORDAN: There are some private traits that play very closely into making a profitable astronaut. Teamwork might be on the high of that listing, and being part of a group means having the ability to generally be a frontrunner but additionally generally being a follower. And flexibility is extremely essential. Area is a really unpredictable surroundings. Having the ability to make fast and sound selections inside these environments is essential.
RASCOE: Has something modified this time round from what you appeared for within the final class of astronauts?
JORDAN: We now have traditionally required two years {of professional} work expertise. This yr, we did bump that as much as three years {of professional} expertise. A part of that motive is as a result of we’re actually busy within the NASA world, and there are many alternatives with totally different autos to fly into house, and in order that degree of readiness that individuals are available with is de facto essential.
RASCOE: One final query – my daughter requested me this lately. What do astronauts do after they’re not in house? Are they finding out? What missions are they doing if they are not truly in house?
JORDAN: There’s a number of totally different items that play into making profitable house flight. So a number of the event actions which might be happening that put together our spacecraft for house, the consoles that we’re utilizing, how mission management from the bottom will talk with people in house, what they should put on and eat and do as soon as they get on the Worldwide Area Station or into an area car – they’re serving to with that improvement right here on the bottom.
RASCOE: That is April Jordan. She is supervisor of NASA astronaut choice. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us.
JORDAN: Thanks.
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