Medical Screening and Training for Package-Tour Astronauts

Abstract

An astronaut needs to be a Jack of all trades. They need to be able to operate a robotic arm from inside the International Space Station (ISS), conduct all sorts of experiments, fix balky toilets, and promote the space program to kids at schools and colleges. Astronauts are scientists, explorers, teachers, preachers, and plumbers all rolled into one. They are explorers with a mission, even though nowadays these missions seem to be rather few and very far between. Astronauts also have to be in great shape and have strong bones and muscles, reinforced by plenty of cardiovascular and weight-training exercise. In short, these orbital workers have to love multitasking, which is why it routinely takes those hell-bent on being an astronaut decades to accumulate all the qualifications necessary just to be able to submit an application. And, even if you check all the boxes, there is no guarantee you’ll fly. That’s because for as long as there have been astronauts, the supply of candidates has far exceeded demand, which means government agencies pick only the very cream of the crop. In short, only those in the very best of health and with the very best skill-sets even have a prayer of being selected. With such strict requirements, the system ensures that astronauts (Figure 6.2) are in the highest percentiles of every performance metric among the general population.