Astronauts as a Career Choice

Ranjan K Baruah *

We should always remember that Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, responded to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's inquiry about how India looked from space with the phrase "Saare jahaan se achcha," meaning "better than the rest of the world". In recent years many Indians have been to space but Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to enter space on 3rd April 1984.

We are aware that recently NASA’s astronauts Sunita Williams, along with her colleague Butch Wilmore have returned to the earth after living and working aboard the International Space Station for 286 days.

On October 4, 1957 the first human-made Earth satellite Sputnik I was launched into outer space, thus opening the way for space exploration. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to orbit the Earth on June 16, 1963, Neil Armstrong becoming the first human to set foot on Moon on July 20, 1969

The UN General Assembly declared 12th April as the International Day of Human Space Flight “to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contri- bution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.”

From the very beginning of the Space Age, the United Nations recognized that outer space added a new dimension to humanity's existence.

Today, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is the United Nations office responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

UNOOSA serves as the secretariat for the General Assembly's only committee dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space: the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Becoming an astronaut in India, particularly with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) , requires a combination of strong academic qualifications, relevant experience, and physical and mental fitness. Aspirants must be from Science background. One may also study subjects like Astrophysics apart from engineering to join space careers like astronauts.