written by Claudia Gollner and Nathan Pili

Before the analog astronaut B-selection, we were told that part of the process would involve presenting to students about a topic of our choosing. What we didn’t know was that these students were part of the junior analog astronaut program, a relatively new
concept and something we learned about for the first time at selection.

The Junior Analog Astronaut program gives young students a firsthand look at space research by letting them shadow and experience the official OeWF analog astronaut selection and training process. The Juniors get to test their own skills against actual candidates or engage with them as STEAM role models through interactive Q&As. Ultimately, it bridges the gap between youth and real-world space careers through hands-on mentorship.

During the selection process, the participating students had given a helping hand while our physical performance had been examined, or when the size of our thumbs had been measured in the anthropometrics session (to ensure that we are all standard, average-sized people who would fit in the spacesuit-simulator). Though they didn’t simply act as sidekicks, during the inspire-me-station they had been the audience and judges at the same time. Our task was to talk about our research or a related topic that excites us, in a 10 minute presentation to excite and inspire these young and brilliant minds. A scary task, to be honest, as it turns out that their English skills are way above average, their curiosity is seemingly endless, their base knowledge is stunning, and they are not shy to ask questions. The interaction ended in incredibly fun discussions. Is it possible to destroy a planet with a laser? Will space mushrooms be edible? We’re unsure if we managed to inspire them, but surely, they inspired us.

We had the privilege to meet some of these students again during C-selection when they safely guided us to the teamwork session in the woods, allowing us to chat with them about their school education and plans for their future. They further partially observed us during the team-building exercise when we were challenged to construct an improvised mock satellite receiver.

Having passed the demanding selection procedure (which was quite a celebration for all of us who had been selected), we saw some familiar faces at the press conference at Tiroler Versicherung, when our fortune of being selected was publicly announced. After the official announcement, we managed to talk in a more private setting. More simple questions like “do any of you wear glasses?” or “do you have any tattoos?” came up. We could reassure them that none of us are without flaws, that some of us do wear glasses when they stare at a screen for an extended amount of time, and some people do have tattoos here and there. You don’t have to be a superhero to work in science or to become an analog astronaut, you must simply be curious and brave to learn and explore.