Ask an Astronaut

INTRODUCTION

Q My first question is simple: How can I become an astronaut?–Alexander Timmins, Year 9, Chichester Free School

A Well, you’ve picked a brilliant career to pursue, Alexander!

Just as the Apollo missions in the 1960s took a giant leap for mankind, so we are now on the cusp of a new golden age of space exploration. In the coming decades we can expect to colonise the Moon, set foot on Mars and travel deeper into our solar system than ever before. These dreams of human endeavour are now within touching distance, and we can all be a part of this remarkable journey.

You might say this whole book is dedicated to answering your question. And that’s because the response is not straightforward, since there is no set path to becoming an astronaut. I was 43 years old when I arrived on board the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 December 2015. I felt enormously privileged to be there and to be following the same career path as men and women I had revered all my life. It was hard to believe I had been fortunate enough to join this exclusive band of spacefarers.

A total of 545 people from 37 different nations had reached Earth’s orbit before me, since Yuri Gagarin’s first intrepid launch on 12 April 1961. As a small cadre of space explorers, we hail from a wide range of careers and backgrounds–school teachers, pilots, engineers, scientists and doctors–and from every corner of the globe. The one thing we all share is a love of exploration and a passion for human spaceflight.

Of course there are certain skills and characteristics that you need to possess as an astronaut, or acquire during training, and I’m confident that by the end of this book you’ll have a clear idea of what is the right stuff for today’s astronauts. Some of these attributes may surprise you–being good at languages, for instance, is extremely useful. Equally important is what you do before you become an astronaut. It’s key to find a career that you’re passionate about, and to be as good as you can be in that field. As we shall see, academic requirements only get you so far. It is your drive, your enthusiasm and, above all, your personality and character that will enable you to succeed.

Shortly after landing back on Earth I was asked in a press conference if I had a message for the children from my old school. My own journey had begun in a small village outside Chichester, on the south coast of England. It had taken nearly 18 years in the Army and a career as a test pilot to put me in the right place at the right time to become an astronaut. I replied, ‘You’re looking at a boy who went to Westbourne Primary School, who left school at the age of 18 with three average A-levels, and I’ve just got back from a six-month mission to space, so my message is: don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything you set your heart on.’

Make no mistake, becoming an astronaut is not easy. In fact it has been the single hardest thing I’ve ever done. But it has also been the most rewarding pursuit by far–full of tremendous experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

So what is this book? And what’s with all the questions? Well, since returning from the ISS, I’ve been amazed by the warm response from thousands of people wishing to know more about my mission and what it takes to become an astronaut. I’ve enjoyed answering intriguing questions on every aspect of my mission, from ‘Does space smell?’ to ‘Is there gravity in space?’ and ‘What’s the grossest thing about living in space?’. There have been novel questions for me, such as ‘Is there a formal protocol for first contact with aliens?’; and more sobering ones, such as ‘What would happen if you were hit by space debris during a spacewalk?’. And of course there are fun ones, such as ‘Can you have a cup of tea in space?’ (the answer is, thankfully, yes!) and ‘How do you go to the toilet in space?’, which is by far the most popular question I get asked, particularly by younger children.

I wanted to answer and expand upon as many of these questions as I could, in order to provide my own definitive account of what being an astronaut is really like–the personal, the profound; the adventure, the astrophysics; the fear, the fun. I hope both the science and the everyday details of life in space are entertaining and informative, and may provide a useful reference or handbook for the next generation of spacefarers. After all, the first person to walk on Mars may well be reading this book.

Using the hashtag #askanastronaut, the project was opened up to users on social media. Many of the wonderful submissions from Twitter and Facebook are included in the book, as indicated by the names after some of the questions. In other cases, where more than one person asked the same or a similar question, I have created an amalgamation. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the project. Even if your name is not included on these pages, your curiosity and thoughtfulness have played an enormous role in shaping the book, and I am hugely grateful for your inquisitiveness.

I have tried to cover all of the key parts of my mission in this book, which is structured into seven chapters: ‘Launch’, ‘Training’, ‘Life and Work on the ISS’, ‘Spacewalking’, ‘Earth and Space’, ‘Return to Earth’ and ‘Looking to the Future’. As well as answering your questions, I have also answered some of my own. I have tried to share insights into my journey to space, from describing the training and preparation, to the science behind the ISS, the experiments on board, the beauty of Earth from 400 km up, the thrill of travelling at supersonic speeds through the atmosphere, the excitement and perils of walking in space, the camaraderie of the crew, and the change of perspective as a result of these astonishing experiences.

Writing and researching the book, and reliving my time on the space station, has been a fascinating experience. I hope that with such a variety of subjects covered, it will be of interest to readers of all ages. Some of the answers are quite long and technical, while others are much shorter. So to give you a taste of what is to come, here are a few quick questions and answers to get you started.

Q If you see 16 sunrises a day in space while orbiting Earth, when do astronauts celebrate New Year?

A Since the time zone on the space station is the equivalent of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the clock strikes midnight on New Year at the same time as in London. If nothing else, we need more British astronauts in space purely for this reason! However, each astronaut on board will usually celebrate New Year when it strikes midnight in their home nation.

Q Did you miss the weather on Earth when you were in space, and what did you miss the most?

A This is going to sound strange, but I really missed the rain. I had no access to a shower for six months and I love exercising outdoors, so when I was running on a treadmill, confined to a warm module on the space station, the idea of cold drizzle on my face sounded blissful.

Q What was your luxury item on board?

A The item that I got the most pleasure from was definitely my camera, since photography became a new-found passion whilst I was in space and a source of excitement, wonder and satisfaction. I treasure the photographs I took from space and, even looking back through them now, I can always remember exactly when and where the space station was when I took them. However, I wouldn’t describe our cameras as luxury items, since we regularly used them for valuable Earth observation science. In terms of pure decadence, I think the best luxury item was a small coolbox that arrived on the Dragon resupply spacecraft, addressed to the crew from the kind folk at SpaceX (which manufactures rockets and spacecraft), which just happened to be packed full of ice cream!

Q In the build-up to your mission, did you become less afraid of going into space, the more knowledge you acquired?

A During astronaut training (which we will explore in detail in Chapter 2), as you gain knowledge, it certainly helps to allay some of the concerns you may have about the higher-risk parts of a mission, such as performing a spacewalk, launch, re-entry and emergency situations. More importantly, knowledge gives you the ability to generate options to deal with difficult situations, and prevents you from making poor choices in the first place. As NASA astronaut and commander of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, once quipped, ‘A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill.’

Our training is exemplary, and all astronauts owe a huge debt to the incredible team of trainers and instructors who dedicate themselves to ensuring that we are fully prepared to execute our mission safely and effectively.

I walked out to the launch pad feeling completely ready to go to space, eagerly anticipating the thrill and excitement of the best ride of my life. If you had asked me right then if I was afraid of going to space, my immediate reaction would have been to say, ‘No way!’ However, flying to space involves risks that no amount of knowledge, training or preparation can mitigate. All astronauts understand and weigh up these risks prior to launch, but no one can guarantee that something catastrophic (by which I mean loss of the spacecraft or crew) will not occur. Saying goodbye to my family just before launch was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. By strapping into a rocket you are voluntarily rolling the dice, and there’s a chance you will not be coming home.

Fear is a feeling induced by perceived danger, and if someone doesn’t perceive a danger when sitting on top of ten storeys of highly flammable rocket fuel, then they probably don’t fully understand their predicament! A more accurate answer would have been to say, ‘Sure, there’s a part of me that’s afraid, but I’ve dealt with that and it’s not what I’m thinking about right now.’

This seems like a good time to introduce the first chapter: LAUNCH!