How to Be an Astronaut

Description

How to Be an Astronaut

And Other Space Jobs

Dr Sheila Kanani & Sol Linero

(Nosy Crow)

How to Be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs invites the reader to contemplate the wonder of space within the possibility of a career. We open with the definition of space, from where it begins, and what it holds. Thereafter we consider how we might explore what lies within space. The writers suggest that it ‘makes us think more carefully about life on our planet and what Earth might be like in the future’. Yet who explores space and how? We know about astronauts, but what of engineers, doctors, scientists and chefs?

The writers create a timeline of space exploration from 200-100 BC to present day. They explain how space is explored in the 21st century, including the 20 years of the International Space Station. We learn about the role of the astronaut and how they train, including reactions to sitting within a centrifuge! What do astronauts do on the space station? What does it feel like to be in space? Yet beyond the astronauts, what of the other space jobs? What about technicians or spacecraft and satellite designers and engineers? What of spacesuit designers, such as pioneers as offered in The Spacesuit? There is an authority, a wealth of information and topicality within How to Be an Astronaut. This is a splendid title!