Astronaut to land at the University
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Astronauts and space may be the stuff of dreams for many a young boy or girl, but at the University of Surrey it is an important part of what we do. Learning more about the space travel experience and catching up with one of our students is all part of it.
Former Surrey Space Centre PhD student, Dr Andreas Mogensen, is an astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA).
Andreas will be visiting the University on Thursday 09 December, to tell us what life is like for astronauts preparing for life in the International Space Station (ISS). Details of live streaming of the event will follow.
The ISS is the largest and most complex structure ever to be assembled and flown in space. The first module of the ISS was launched, over 12 years ago, in November 1998 and construction is scheduled to be finished in 2011.
Since November 2000, the ISS has been permanently inhabited by an international crew of astronauts. The astronauts who fly to the ISS are trained to undertake a multitude of tasks to prepare them for the complex operations onboard the ISS.
For new astronaut recruits, training begins with an 18-month period of basic training. The basic training provides the astronauts with the necessary set of skills for working onboard the ISS. Once completed, they will qualify for an eventual mission assignment.
As well as operating the scientific payloads and performing scientific experiments, basic training exposes astronauts to their first experience of weightlessness through zero-gravity flights.
Astronauts are also trained in the operational procedures used for manipulating robotic arms and for conducting extra-vehicular activities outside the ISS.
The training also covers the issues related to human behaviour and performance experienced under stressful survival situations, in order to prepare astronauts for their six month mission onboard the ISS