Kirsty Lindsay from Northumbria University explores the different ways students can work towards a career in the space industry.
In 2024, I flew in a microgravity, or zero G, parabolic flight with the European Space Agency (ESA). I the plane flew large arcs up and down the sky. At the top of the arc I experienced 22 seconds of weightlessness, like an astronaut.
On board were some of ESA’s new astronauts, training Microgravity Science Glovebox: an optical box for conducting scientific experiments in space, with gloves to allow the astronauts to use their hands while the box stops the experiment from flying around. I was doing research on how to keep astronauts healthy in space.
Our test subjects were ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquetwho made floating look easy: he hung quietly in the house while the scientists and trainees crashed.
My career path to those times in microgravity looks more like a maze than a straight line. I studied engineering, then I got a degree in physiotherapy, then I got a master’s degree in space physiology and health. Finally, a PhD on how to keep an astronaut’s back healthy is a combination of all three.
There is no one way to become an astronaut – you can’t go to an astronaut school. You need to pick up skills along the way before applying to become an astronaut candidate. The good news is that there are many ways to become an astronaut, or float around them, like me.
STEM and exploration routes
The most obvious and well-known routes are to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, and also become a pilot – these paths often overlap. Exactly which STEM subject, and which type of aviation, counts depends on the space agency or private company you are applying to, and your nationality.
But most of the current astronaut corps in the world took this STEM path. Thomas Pesquet is one example: he qualified as an aerospace engineer and transport pilot before becoming an astronaut candidate in the class of 2009.
A multidisciplinary route
The second, and increasingly common option, is the multidisciplinary route. It includes astronauts who have studied two or more fields that may not be clearly related to, or spaceflight. The combination of life sciences and physics is popular, as is the Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. He trained as a biomedical engineer, astrophysicist and as a doctor before becoming an astronaut.
ESA data John McFallwho was with me on the 2024 parabolic flight, was a Paralympic athlete and NHS orthopedic surgeon before becoming an astronaut in 2022. Some combinations are still unusual: Jessica Meir combined marine biology and extreme-environment physiology before joining NASA.
Each of these astronauts offers a unique combination of skills, of complex value, to the problem-solving world of spaceflight. That mix will be even more important in future planetary missions, where a single person may need to fill several roles depending on what stage of the job they are in.
The path of great experts
The third way is exactly the opposite. Instead of generalizing, you dive deep into one topic and become the world’s leading expert. For example, ESA Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski he received two master’s degrees and a doctorate in electronic-tolerant electronics. He then worked at CERN, where he began the day-to-day operations of the group Large Hadron Colliderbefore being selected by ESA in 2022. Sometimes being an expert and being really good at what you do is the way to heaven.
It’s fair to say that you don’t always have to decide when you’re young. Canadian Jenni Sidey-Gibbons he was a fire engineer and university lecturer before his appointment. Japanese Makoto Suwa he was an Earth scientist and senior disaster management expert at the World Bank before being recruited by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in his 40s.
There is no expiration date on a dream, and there is no single moment when you have to decide. It’s okay to stumble along the way. Astronaut Scott Kelly they had low grades in school too failed at least one US Navy test before becoming an astronaut. He never gave up.
A career path that doesn’t exist yet
And then there is the final path, which none of us know, because it doesn’t exist yet. When it comes to who they choose to go to space, commercial airlines write their own rule books as they go along and deliberately expand who qualifies as an astronaut. We don’t really know who the astronauts of 2040 will be, or what they will have learned.
However, a solid foundation in math, science, English and another language is a good start. You will train and live with international crews and solve problems in space. No matter what you study, hobbies are the last ingredient. Hobbies make you a well-rounded, happy, highly skilled person – the kind of person who makes an interesting team member.
Get that foundation, do it smart and everything you learn is up to you.
By Kirsty Lindsay
Kirsty Lindsay is an assistant professor in physiotherapy at Northumbria UniversityNewcastle. He studied space physiology and health at King’s College London in 2013 and graduated with a BHSc (Hons) in physiotherapy from York St John in 2010. He also spent two years at the European Space Agency working on ground-based facilities and human spaceflight as a young graduate student, before returning to the UK for his current research. Kirsty’s research interests include applying physiology and physiotherapy to help maintain astronaut health and improving clinical care for back pain patients on Earth.
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