32 Recent Advances in Planetary Geoscience

Wednesday, 16 May 2018
8:20 AM - 10:05 AM
Kaibab Room

THE RECENT EVOLUTION OF ASTRONAUT GEOSCIENCE TRAINING: USING TERRESTRIAL ANALOGS TO PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANETARY EXPLORERS

Paper number: 32-5
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 9:25 AM – 9:45 AM

Authors

Abstract

The use of analog environments has been crucial throughout all stages of astronaut training in order to prepare the men and women who will one day conduct field geology beyond our planet. With each Apollo crew receiving over 1000 hours of classroom and field geology training, the 12 men who worked on the surface of the Moon were highly trained in general geologic principles and in the specific landing site geology expected for each mission. As Apollo evolved into the Space Shuttle and then International Space Station (ISS) programs, astronauts received science training focused on Earth observation, including on large scale geologic processes visible from low Earth orbit. Beginning with the 2009 Astronaut Class, however, new astronauts have received more comprehensive geoscience training in preparation for International Space Station missions as well as future for planetary exploration missions. New astronaut classes receive both classroom and field training in a variety of topics geared toward preparing them for Earth observation activities as well as for future lunar, Mars, and/or small body exploration.

The 2009 and 2013 astronaut classes completed a geoscience training curriculum that evolved based on lessons learned from 1) Apollo/Skylab and Shuttle/ISS training, 2) a LEAG-commissioned Special Action Team on astronaut training, and 3) feedback with prior astronaut classes. The 2017 Astronaut Class, consisting of 12 NASA and 2 Canadian Space Agency astronauts, is currently taking part in a curriculum that will include two weeks of classroom training and two weeks of field training.

Though their training when they first entered the astronaut office was not as extensive as the 2009, 2013, and 2017 classes, senior astronauts have additional opportunities for training through specially-designed training trips, in field assistantships with geologists conducting field campaigns at planetary analog sites, or in NASA analog missions in which they apply their geology training in simulated planetary exploration missions.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 50, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2018RM-313741

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