Become an astronaut now: the Austrian Space Forum is looking for two new analog astronauts

In February 2018, I spent a couple of exciting days in Oman. There, I was allowed to participate in the Mars Simulation Amadee-18 mission. For a couple weeks, approximately twenty men and women from different countries lived as if they hadn’t landed in the Oman desert, but instead on the Red Planet. This wasn’t about fun and adventure (although the participants had quite a bit of that too), but instead about identifying problems and weak points in a real Mars expedition before one is actually attempted.

How do teams work best together? What is the optimum method for feeding and supporting yourself? How long does the equipment last and what number of spare parts should you take with you? What activities can the Mars explorers perform, and which ones must they perform? What medical needs do they have? Analog missions such as this are meant to test such things. The Austrian Space Forum conducts them every two to three years. Now you can apply for the next mission, tentatively planned for 2020.
The requirements are listed below:

  • Age 25 to 45 (sadly I don’t make the cut!)
  • Height 1.65 to 1.90 meters (5’ 5” to 6’ 3”)
  • Minimum weight 55 kg (120 lbs)
  • Good physical and mental fitness
  • English language skills (fluent)
  • Experience in a technological, scientific, or engineering field or pilot training
  • Participation in basic training (five extended weekends in Innsbruck) and in the missions
  • EU citizen (including Switzerland)

2 Comments

  • How much does this program cost exactly?
    If this is just a cover story, id be really sad. :/
    Because people are dying to know the real way to become a space cadet. The schooling you would learn would be magnificent! Quite sophisticated programs, im sure. 🙂 Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

    • The program is free, but you have to apply for it and they select very few candidates.

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BrandonQMorris
  • BrandonQMorris
  • Brandon Q. Morris è un fisico e uno specialista dello spazio. Si è occupato a lungo di questioni spaziali, sia professionalmente che privatamente, e mentre voleva diventare un astronauta, è dovuto rimanere sulla Terra per una serie di motivi. È particolarmente affascinato dal "what if" e attraverso i suoi libri mira a condividere storie avvincenti di hard science fiction che potrebbero realmente accadere, e un giorno potrebbero accadere. Morris è l'autore di diversi romanzi di fantascienza best-seller, tra cui The Enceladus Series.

    Brandon è un orgoglioso membro della Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America e della Mars Society.