…is a high school senior or college freshman right now?
If the first lunar landing in over four decades takes place in 2018 as scheduled, an 18 year old will be 30, just enough time for college, an aerospace degree, test pilot training and at least one space flight under his or her belt.
Unless a miracle happens, it won’t be my son; but whoever it is, they’re out there right now.
And the first human on Mars is right now in grade school.
Awesome.
And, given the decline in the nation’s educational system, & the total unwillingness of America’s wealth to pay their taxes, even for Defense, much less a Space Program…given that, the name of the astronaut will be Cho. Or Wei. And he will be from the People’s Republic Of China.
You know, I don’t recall stating that the nationality of The Next Human On The Moon was important in my OP. Perhaps you can show me where I did.
Ooh…I’m an undergrad (19) studing for an (eventual) MEng in Aerospace Engineering. Do I qualify?
Does the fact that I’m a Brit count against me? I think that Helen Sharman has been the only brit in space thus far.
No you didn’t state it. But the use of American terminology like *high school senior or college freshman * seemed to imply it. It did to me anyway.
Except that “high school senior” and “college freshman” are typically American terms. I can easly see how someone may interpret that you were refering to said students as being Americans.
Agreed. Those terms make sense to me, but they mean American Student to me.
If I want to be an astronaut, is my best chance to marry an American girl? The European Space Agency doesn’t look too hopeful.
I doubt the next person to set foot on the moon will be as young as 30, I’d bet he (she?) will be more like 40, maybe older. The youngest ever on a US spaceflight was Sally Ride at 32. the Apollo moonwalkers averaged 39 years old.
Take a look at this NASA fact sheet (warning PDF). Starting on page 13 is a list of the current US astronauts. As of January 2005, there were 100 (not all have flown missions yet). They range in age from 34 to 56. Only eleven are under 40, while twelve are over 50. The average age is 45. On the most recent Space Shuttle flight the seven astronauts ranged in age from 40 to 54, with an average age of 47.5.
Most astronauts have more than just a bachelor’s degree, most have Masters and PhDs, then have at least a couple years experience in their particular field of expertise.
Michael Foale has dual US/UK citizenship and is NASA astronaut. He has flown on several Shuttle missions, spent 6 months on the ISS, but he is most famous for being on Mir when the Progress resupply module collided with it.
I also made my post in English. Doesn’t mean that I meant to exclude readers that spoke other languages.
I just used idioms that I knew, trusting that the reader was sharp enough to get the gist of what I was trying to say. Didn’t you?
Nobody can mention it unless you do first, is that what you are saying?
You don’t have to be a citizen to join the military.
Do astronauts still have to be in the military? I mean aside from the guests. I know Christa McAuliffe wasn’t in the military.
I agree that the ESA probably aren’t going to be launching their own manned spacecraft any time soon, but they do have a European Astronaut Corps, and their astronauts have flown on Russian and US space flights. As for joining the US Astronaut Corp, you’re correct, you’d need to become a US citizen to become a part of the regular program (although Payload Specialists don’t need to be citizens).
I was peeved that I jumped into this thread with a witty bit of snark only to find that Bosda had the exact same comment I was going to make.
And for the ensuing argument, the fact that you listed the American timeline for a lunar landing implied that you were talking about an American astronaut. Who could very well also be named Cho or Wei. And no, you didn’t state that it was important.
But it was still a fun bit of snark, and the snark was not in any way an attack on your OP.
How old is Lance Bass? 
I wonder what that person will say when he or she steps foot on the surface?
I figure it’ll be scripted long in advance.
Armstrong was 39 when he stepped on the moon.
As far as I know, they never had to be military, strictly speaking (with the possible exception of the original Marcury 7 astronauts). They just almost always were because NASA was looking for pilots with tons of hours flying jets. Men who had plenty of experience controlling complex dangerous high speed vehicles and could deal with emergencies under stressful conditions with a cool head and be able to size up an emergency and know what to do. The guys who were most qualified were generally fighter pilots and/or test pilots.
Since the Space Shuttle started flying (allowing a larger crew), they could take along crew members who didn’t need to know how to fly the spacecraft. So the Mission Specials and Payload Specialists are genrally doctors, engineers etc. The Commanders and Pilots are still generally former military pilots however. But again, it’s not a specific requirement.
You cited Bush’s proposed timeline.
So, yeah. You implied, quite clearly, an American.