It was 1995 when Michael Lopez-Alegria, first Spanish astronaut, first went into space. He did this as a member of NASA, holding Spanish and American citizenship. Three years later, in 1998. Pedro Duke He began his career as an astronaut for the European Space Agency (ESA). And already in 2024, Pablo Alvarez graduated from the same agency with a degree in astronaut. In the same promotion, another Spaniard, a biotechnologist, was selected as a reservist Sarah Garcia. Including everyone, that’s almost 30 years into the space race in which technology has changed a lot, but has the way we select astronauts changed?
IN Hypertext We had the opportunity to talk about this with Lopez-Alegria during a visit to Spain, where we will be part of Almeria Astronomical Conference. He told us how the selection of astronauts has evolved, and also mentioned the emergence of private companies in the space race.
Without a doubt, he is the ideal person to talk about this topic, since he has not only been in the profession for 30 years. He has also participated in space missions for government agencies such as NASA and later for the private company Axiom Space, where he is the chief astronaut. Both actors are important to him, each in their own position. And cooperation is necessary not only between government agencies different countries. Also among various private agents They have been here to stay for a long time.
The dream of becoming an astronaut will never go out of style.
Speaking at an astronomy conference in Almeria, Lopez-Alegría recalled how he decided he wanted to become an astronaut. This was in 1969 when Apollo 11 first brought a person to surface of the moon. He was on the beach with his family when the adults asked the children to get out of the water. Everyone gathered around the radio to listen to the data coming in about the moon landing. When this happened, joy took over. The adults shook hands and hugged each other, although they didn’t know each other at all. It was a success for everyone, as those cosmonauts who first set foot on our satellite later said.
There he realized that he wanted to become an astronaut, although over time he decided to lower his expectations one notch and become an astronaut. aerospace engineer and fighter pilot. However, when he learned that NASA was looking for astronauts, he did not hesitate and decided to join the selection process. He doesn’t remember how many applicants there were in his year, but he remembers that the requirements were almost the same as today.
Basically there were three of them at that time: a career in the scientific field, at least three years of professional experience and, of course, the ability to pass physical tests. Almost the same requirements that Pablo Alvarez and Sara Garcia had to meet. “Almost everything is there medical and practical testsin addition to interview“López-Alegria says in a conversation with Hypertext. “The only difference is that in my time, thousands of people applied, but today there are also tens of thousands of candidates applying to be NASA astronauts.”
As for Alvarez and Garcia, they were selected by the European Space Agency among 23,000 candidates. Therefore, as López-Alegría explains well, the main difference is that in the past the selection processes were less known and therefore not as many candidates were presented.
Importance of Medical Tests
Space agencies invest a lot of money in their astronauts. Therefore, as Lopez-Alegria explains, it is in their interest that these people can work for them for a long time. This is one of the main reasons why medical tests are important. It makes sense that candidates would also need to be checked to see if they have any health problems that could get worse in space. Also important are psychological tests, which are often They are intertwined with the interviews themselves.
Recently speaking with YouTuber Geordie Wilde: Sarah Garcia explained that one of the questions he had to answer during the selection interviews was whether he would go to Mars is on a one-way mission. Perhaps we might think it would be appropriate to answer yes. However, this indicates impulsiveness, which is not recommended for someone who is about to devote himself to such risky work. “Space missions need to be taken seriously.”
We asked Lopez-Alegria, and she completely agreed.
“Today, traveling to Mars requires resources that I don’t think we have. The round trip would take approximately two years. These are the kind of logistics required for a mission like this that I don’t think I’ll see in my lifetime. I don’t want to go back either.”
Michael Lopez-Alegria, astronaut
Government and private astronauts: are there many differences?
Michael Lopez-Alegria is a very versatile astronaut. He participated in several NASA missions, playing a very important role in the construction of the International Space Station. Specifically, in 2000 and 2002 This was part of two missions to place spare parts at their facilities. Between these two missions, he made another special mission in 2001 as part of NEEMO program, through which NASA sends astronauts and scientists to an underwater laboratory called Aquarius where they conduct research work. Moreover, in 2006 he flew to the International Space Station again, this time aboard a spacecraft. Soyuz capsule.
He officially retired from NASA in 2012 and then moved to private companies. member and director of Axiom Space.
For this reason, he is one of the few astronauts who can, with full knowledge of the facts, compare the two existing styles of space travel: government and private.
When asked what the differences are, start with an important clarification. “As an American company, our portal is NASA, that is we continue to work with them” Despite this, differences can be established. “I would say that a private company is much more flexible, and this is very pleasing, because the paperwork of a state-owned enterprise is always overwhelming,” says the cosmonaut. “I think this is good because we have been able to evolve and create our processes more quickly and flexibly.”
In any case, he insists that both sides in the space race are important because each has its own role. To better understand this, compare it to land expeditions throughout history. “The role of governments has always been to open borders,” he recalls. “They spend the national treasury on an expedition, see what’s there, and if it turns out it’s safe to go there and there’s something to do, then the government goes out and private actors come in.” This is what is happening now in earth’s orbit.
“Governments are already thinking about other destinations, like the Moon, and are going to allow orbit to be commercialized, and they will also be customers. Instead of owning the infrastructure, they can buy it as a service. Now partners of the International Space Station, including NASA, are purchasing a service to send cargo and crews there. They are not owners, but they buy just like any other user, including Axiom Space. We have the same seller – SpaceX. This solution has a great future, since it costs NASA much less. The company can sell this service not only to them, but also to other organizations. In fact, that’s what we’re aiming for at Axiom: to have a private service that can be sold to governments, pharmaceutical companies, or anyone else who needs it.”
Michael Lopez-Alegria, astronaut
What about space tourism?
When Yuri Gagarin flew into space for the first time, perhaps he did not imagine that in the future this great leap for humanity would become tourist destination. Today, space tourism is a reality on two levels. On the one hand, they were created suborbital flights, which does not require the same training as astronauts. A shorter workout is enough. There is another type of space tourism in which a civilian accompanies astronauts on their missions, such as to the International Space Station. The flight does not have a tourist mission. Space is simply reserved for those who can pay, subject to prior preparation.
Both problems are becoming more common, and for López-Alegria, they appear to have a bright future, starting with suborbital flights. “There are two American companies that are already doing this, I think they have a very long waiting list, and I hope that the prices will start to come down,” he notes. “The experience is very different from what we do with the preparation a few days. It’s not the same as getting on a plane, but almost.”
According to him, this is just the beginning. “The idea is to democratize this experience, first in suborbital flights and then in orbital flights.”
30 years of experience In one person they testify to how quickly the space race is moving. That boy who emerged from the water to celebrate next to the radio that man was finally walking on the moon had no idea of all that he would experience firsthand and what he would surely still have to witness.
Source: Hiper Textual
