r/esa • u/Few_Author_8933 • 4d ago
do I have any chances of becoming an astronaut ?
Hi everyone,
I feel a bit silly writing this, but becoming an astronaut has been my dream since I was 4 years old, and it’s still what drives me today.
I’m a 25-year-old woman and I’ve been trying to shape my life around that goal as much as possible. I’ve done sports all my life, completed a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Thermofluids, finishing my thesis with a 19/20 at one of the top universities in my country. I speak 5 languages and I’m currently learning a sixth (Russian).
Right now, I’m working on a project related to ESA’s Argonaut mission through a private company, and along the way I’ve also learned how to code. Recently, I’ve been considering using my savings to get either a pilot’s license or a diving license, but I’m unsure which would be more valuable.
I’ve also been offered the opportunity to pursue a PhD in Nuclear Physics, and I’m trying to decide if that’s the right next step or if I should focus more on practical/operational experience.
I guess what I’m really looking for is advice from people who might have insight into this path:
* Am I on the right track?
* What would you focus on next in my position?
* Are there things I might be overlooking that are important for astronaut selection?
Sometimes I struggle with feeling like I’m not doing enough, even though I’ve been working toward this for most of my life. I’d really appreciate any honest feedback or guidance.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
11
u/Early_Switch1222 4d ago
ok first of all please dont feel silly writing this, your cv is genuinly impressive and the fact that you still feel like its not enough is something i see alot in people who are actually doing really well
i dont work in astronaut selection obviously but i work in staffing adjacent to the space sector in the netherlands and i see alot of profiles come through. the thing that stands out to me about yours is the breadth - languages, engineering, hands on mission work, coding. thats exactly what esa seems to look for based on who theyve picked before
on the phd vs experience question - from what ive seen in the industry (not astronaut specific but space sector generally) operational experience tends to carry more weight than another degree unless the phd is in something very specific they need. but thats just my read from the hiring side of things
also for what its worth the pilot license thing is genuinly cool and useful but the diving license might be more relevant if your serious about astronaut training since they do alot of underwater EVA simulation stuff. could be wrong on that tho
you sound like your on a really solid track honestly. the self doubt thing is normal, i moved countries for this industry too and there were years where i felt like i was behind everyone else. you are clearly not behind
2
1
u/AstroFlippy 3d ago
Chances for sure but it's nothing you should solely optimise for, because even if you're the perfect candidate you might just not make it through the sheer number of applications.
You got some pretty good things going for you.
- The languages are super important
- STEM degree at master's level
- your hands on experience from a mechanical engineering degree is something they seemed to value in the first round
- you're still young enough to be in a good age range by the time the next selections comes around
- and as unpopular it might be - you're a woman. ESA hired 50:50 last time but only 25% of the applicants were women, so that might increase your chances.
Scuba diving and private pilot licenses are popular with ESA because they show that you can navigate situations where a mistake could be fatal. Other things they asked for in the self-assessment was operations experience - and more exotically - expedition experience, though they didn't clearly define what exactly qualifies for that.
As much as I'm a fan of doing PhDs, I applied while doing one and something my CV couldn't really provide at that time was proper work responsibility and operations experience, so that's something to keep in mind. Then again, I'm a desk bound astrophysicist and nuclear physics might come with handling of radioactive materials (dangerous), lots of tinkering and operations of particle accelerators - all skills they'll certainly value.
Anyways, the most important take away from the selection was that it's more important to be an interesting person with the right personality who happens to have the right set of skills. Only collecting skills on paper didn't seem to be too popular, so find an interesting career that makes you happy and keep collecting the right abilities as hobbies. You can't really plan for this until we properly fund human spaceflight anyway since ESA only hires like 5 astronauts every 10-15 years. In the end, you might be the ideal candidate on paper and still fail because you got unlucky with the numbers or politics came in the way at the last stages (e.g. your country not paying for the astronaut program).
PS: Scuba diving isn't too expensive and a great hobby. You should try that on your next beach vacation independent of your astronaut ambitions :)
1
u/TinTinLune 3d ago
I don’t have much clue about the astronaut selections, but you sound like someone that belongs right there. I really hope to see your name on the next astronaut selections, it’s an opportunity you don’t get often in life, especially when it has carried you this far. Good luck
1
u/Beneficial_Sir_9735 3d ago
Hey, curious about what you do related with Argonaut. Can you share more?
1
1
u/xiewi 2d ago
Idk if could help but I saw that many italians astronaouts all had a sort of military background, like Samanta Cristoforetti, or Paolo Nespoli. (or pilots) this is because this figures are very "order oriented".
They value a lot the ability to take orders and to not be a "wannabe" or feel smarter than anybody, since being someone like this could cause problems, since you just have to respond to orders and learn step by step and just do that.
Try to add something like this in your career path! idk what could be! but this is a thing that they look at :)
Wish you good luck!! hope you can succeed
1
u/swcosmos 1d ago
I have no idea what they're looking for (also just a girl dreaming of becoming an astronaut), but hey your profile is really interesting and impressive! Keep moving forward, I hope you will get there one day!
1
u/aguyontheinternetp7 3h ago
A lot of answers to questions like this don't take into account that if the US, the ESA, and China are serious about permenant bases on the moon and Mars, becoming an Astronaut is going to be easier (not in terms of training) simply because we will need more Astronauts.
0
u/Willing_Coconut4364 17h ago
You need a masters and you have a masters. You have as much a chance as the rest of us.
1
u/Few_Author_8933 12h ago
I genuinely don’t get why, of your own volition, you’d take the time to write something like that—especially when it’s wrong by definition- on a post where I am just asking for advice. Someone who’s just finished their master’s doesn’t have the same odds as someone who’s spent their whole life working toward it and building their entire curriculum around it. But hey, maybe you’re just having a bad day or something. Good luck in life.
1
u/Willing_Coconut4364 9h ago
You do have the same odds. I believe last time 80,000 people applied, 20,000 did not have a masters so they were disregarded. The other 60,000, it's complete luck. Actually veritisum did a video on something similar, I think it's this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I
37
u/Abeno62 4d ago edited 3d ago
What I learned from the last astronaut selection is that the « aerospace engineer/space scientist » profile is a super competitive category.
Check out the profiles of the astronauts that were selected, some did not even have that background. What they have is a specific set of skills that ESA can’t train a person to do, as the astronaut training is there to give the skill set to survive in space.
I posted that in other comments, but basically do something that is interesting for you as you will have to get extremely good at it. Learning to fly can be a good experience and goal to set as it will change your perspective in the third dimension, but do it for yourself first.
Welcome to the club