The importance of qualitative private astronaut training

As government agencies are not the only ones exploring space anymore, more opportunities for private astronauts or spaceflight participants will arise. Commercial spaceflight companies will soon (or already do) offer suborbital and orbital space travel opportunities to non-professional astronauts. As there are no official training requirements for these “private astronauts,” we are working on a programme that covers both physical and mental preparation for the non-professional astronaut. In collaboration with the Delft University of Technology, the Desdemona Aerospace Simulator and the Centre for Man in Aviation Soesterberg, the Netherlands, we developed a unique training programme, consisting of different modules which are interchangeable and tailor-made to the private astronaut. For this we use different training methods, high-end simulations and a real zero- gravity flight so that the trainees get accustomed to the basics of space and astronomy, alternating G-forces, high-G, weightlessness, loss of cabin pressure and the physical/mental effects of oxygen deprivation. Another part of the training covers the team-building aspect, where the trainees are submerged in a “Mars Simulation Workshop”. In this workshop, they discover the challenges that astronauts in outer space have to face and how to overcome them as a team. To open up training to students and young professionals, the Space Training Academy is cooperating with the Euro Moon Mars Working Group, creating the Euro Moon Mars Astronaut Training Academy. By providing practical private astronaut training to young professionals, we want to contribute to the preparation of a new generation of scientists. We are convinced that an appropriate training programme for private astronauts will have a positive impact on the space sector and the advancement of human space exploration. When more people, with less than the high standard health requirements for professional astronauts, are tested and trained, we will gain more insight in developing our human potential.