Astronaut training


Astronaut training describes the complex process of preparing astronauts in regions around the world for their space missions before, during and after the flight, which includes medical tests, physical training, extra-vehicular activity training, wilderness survival training, water survival training, robotics training, procedure training, rehabilitation process, as well as training on experiments they will perform during their stay in space.
Virtual and physical training facilities have been integrated to familiarize astronauts with the conditions they will encounter during all phases of flight and prepare astronauts for a microgravity environment. Special considerations must be made during training to ensure a safe and successful mission, which is why the Apollo astronauts received training for geology field work on the Lunar surface and why research is being conducted on best practices for future extended missions, such as the trip to Mars.

Purpose of training

Training flow

The selection and training of astronauts are integrated processes to ensure the crew members are qualified for space missions. The training is categorized into five objectives to train the astronauts on the general and specific aspects: basic training, advanced training, mission-specific training, onboard training, and proficiency maintenance training. The trainees must learn medicine, language, robotics and piloting, space system engineering, the organization of space systems, and the acronyms in aerospace engineering during the basic training. While 60% to 80% of the astronauts will experience space motion sickness, including pallor, cold sweating, vomiting, and anorexia, the astronaut candidates are expected to overcome the sickness. During the advanced training and the mission specific training, astronauts will learn about the operation of specific systems and skills required associated with their assigned positions in a space mission. The mission specific training typically requires 18 months to complete for Space Shuttle and International Space Station crews. It is important to ensure the astronauts' well-being, physical and mental health prior, during, and after the mission period. Proficiency maintenance aims to help the crew members to maintain a minimum level of performance, including topics such as extravehicular activity, robotics, language, diving, and flight training.

Launch and landing

The effects of launching and landing have various effects on astronauts, with the most significant effects that occur being space motion sickness, orthostatic intolerance, and cardiovascular events.
Space motion sickness is an event that can occur within minutes of being in changing gravity environments. The symptoms range from drowsiness and headaches, to nausea and vomiting. There are three general categories of space motion sickness:
  • Mild: One to several transient symptoms, no operational impact
  • Moderate: Several symptoms of persistent nature, minimal operational impact
  • Severe: Several symptoms of persistent nature, significant impact on performance
About three-fourths of astronauts experience
space motion sickness, with effects rarely exceeding two days. There is a risk for post-flight motion sickness, however this is only significant following long-duration space missions.
Post-flight, following exposure to microgravity, the vestibular system, located in the inner ear is disrupted because of the microgravity-induced unresponsiveness of the otoliths which are small calcareous concretions that sense body postures and are responsible for ensuring proper balance. In most cases, this leads to some postflight postural illusions.
Cardiovascular events represent important factors during the three phases of a space mission. They can be divided in:
  • Pre-existing cardiovascular diseases: these are typically selected-out during astronaut selection, but if they are present in an astronaut they can worsen over the course of the spaceflight.
  • Cardiovascular events and changes occurring during spaceflight: these are due to body fluids shift and redistribution, heart rhythm disturbances and decrease in maximal exercise capacity in the micro gravity environment. These effects can potentially lead the crew to be severely incapacitated upon return to a gravitational environment and thus unable to egress a spacecraft without assistance.
  • Orthostatic intolerance leading to syncope during post-flight stand test.

    On-orbit operations

Astronauts are trained in preparation for the conditions of launch as well as the harsh environment of space. This training aims to prepare the crew for events falling under two broad categories: events relating to operation of the spacecraft, and events relating to the space environment
During training, astronauts are familiarized with the engineering systems of the spacecraft including spacecraft propulsion, spacecraft thermal control, and life support systems. In addition to this, astronauts receive training in orbital mechanics, scientific experimentation, earth observation, and astronomy. This training is particularly important for missions when an astronaut will encounter multiple systems. Training is performed in order to prepare astronauts for events that may pose a hazard to their health, the health of the crew, or the successful completion of the mission. These types of events may be: failure of a critical life support system, capsule depressurization, fire, and other life-threatening events. In addition to the need to train for hazardous events, astronauts will also need to train to ensure the successful completion of their mission. This could be in the form of , scientific experimentation, or .

External events

External events refer more broadly to the ability to live and work in the extreme environment of space. This includes adaptation to microgravity, isolation, confinement, and radiation. The difficulties associated with living and working in microgravity include spatial disorientation, motion sickness, and vertigo. During long-duration missions, astronauts will often experience isolation and confinement. This has been known to limit performance of astronaut crews and hence training aims to prepare astronauts for such challenges. The long-term effects of radiation on crews is still largely unknown. However, it is theorized that astronauts on a trip to Mars will likely receive more than 1000x the radiation dosage of a typical person on Earth. As such, present and future training must incorporate systems and processes for protecting astronauts against radiation.

Science experiments

Scientific experimentation has historically been an important element of human spaceflight, and is the primary focus of the International Space Station. Training on how to successfully carry out these experiments is an important part of astronaut training, as it maximizes the scientific return of the mission. Once on-orbit, communication between astronauts and scientists on the ground can be limited, and time is strictly apportioned between different mission activities. It is vital that astronauts are familiar with their assigned experiments in order to complete them in a timely manner, with as little intervention from the ground as possible.
For missions to the ISS, each astronaut is required to become proficient at one hundred or more experiments. During training, the scientists responsible for the experiments do not have direct contact with the astronauts who will be carrying them out. Instead, scientists instruct trainers who in turn prepare the astronauts for carrying out the experiment. Much of this training is done at the European Astronaut Center.
For human experiments, the scientists describe their experiments to the astronauts who then choose whether to participate on board the ISS. For these experiments, the astronauts will be tested before, during, and after the mission to establish a baseline and determine when the astronaut returned to the baseline.

Purpose of virtual-reality training

Virtual reality training for astronauts intends to give the astronauts candidates an immersive training experience. Virtual reality has been explored as a technology to artificially expose astronauts to space conditions and procedures prior to going into space. Using virtual reality, astronauts can be trained and evaluated on performing an EVA with all the necessary equipment and environmental features simulated. This modern technology also allows the scenario to be changed on the go, such as to test emergency protocols. The VR training systems can reduce the effects of the space motion sickness through a process of habituation. Preflight VR training can be a countermeasure for space motion sickness and disorientation due to the weightlessness of the microgravity environment. When the goal is to act as a practice tool, virtual reality is commonly explored in conjunction with robotics and additional hardware to increase the effect of immersion or the engagement of the trainee.

Training by region

United States

At NASA, following the selection phase, the so-called "AsCans" have to undergo up to two years of training to become fully qualified astronauts.
Initially, all AsCans must go through basic training to learn both technical and soft skills. There are 16 different technical courses in:
AsCans initially go through Basic Training, where they are trained on Soyuz, and ISS systems, flight safety and operations, as well as land and water survival. Pilot AsCans will receive training on NASA's T-38 Trainer Jet. Furthermore, because modern space exploration is done by a consortium of different countries and is a very publicly visible area, astronauts received professional and cultural training, as well as language courses.
Following completion of Basic Training candidates proceed to NASA's Advanced Training. AsCans are trained on life-sized models to get a feel of what they will be doing in space. This was done both through the use of the Shuttle Training Aircraft while it was still operational and is done through simulation mock-ups. The shuttle training aircraft was exclusively used by the commander and pilot astronauts for landing practices until the retirement of the Shuttle, while advanced simulation system facilities are used by all the candidates to learn how to work and successfully fulfill their tasks in the space environment. Simulators and EVA training facilities help candidates to best prepare for their different mission operations. In particular, vacuum chambers, parabolic flights, and neutral buoyancy facilities allow candidates to get acclimated to the micro gravity environment, particularly for EVA. Virtual reality is also becoming increasingly used as a tool to immerse AsCans into the space environment.
The final phase is the Intensive Training. It starts about three months prior to launch, preparing candidates for their assigned mission. Flight-specific integrated simulations are designed to provide a dynamic testing ground for mission rules and flight procedures. The final Intensive Training joint crew/flight controller training is carried out in parallel with mission planning. This phase is where candidates will undergo mission specific operational training, as well as experience with their assigned experiments. Crew medical officer training is also included to effectively intervene with proactive and reactive actions in case of medical issues.