Astronomer: features of the “star” profession. Space: professions of the future What are the professions related to space?

Today, the competition for space departments has almost doubled compared to last year. Russian youth choose the professions of the future. According to sociologists, astronautics and related specialties are among the five most in-demand professions of the next decade.

The crew of the Russian segment of the ISS Andrei Borisenko, Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov congratulated all Russian schoolchildren on Knowledge Day. ISS crew commander Andrei Borisenko: “Dear guys! Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the First of September - Knowledge Day, on the beginning of the school year from Earth orbit from the crew of the International Space Station! ISS flight engineer Alexander Samokutyaev: “At school you learn a lot of new things, and this makes your life more interesting. Strive for new knowledge, always remain inquisitive, help your friends and classmates.” ISS flight engineer Sergei Volkov: “We, cosmonauts, want you to study with straight A’s!” Boys and girls, we wish you cosmic health, prosperity, joy and optimism.”

The day of the real test of knowledge turned out to be September 1 for the crew of the future 29th and 30th expeditions to the ISS. At the Cosmonaut Training Center, crew commander Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and American Daniel Burbank took an exam to determine their readiness for the upcoming flight.

Cosmonaut candidate Svyatoslav Morozov is still far from pre-flight exams; he is still a first-grader in space. The dream of going into orbit was formed while still in school, strengthened at the aerospace department of the Moscow Aviation Institute and brought Morozov to Star City - a real school of space life.

“When I was 12-13 years old I started thinking about it. And by the end of school, this had definitely become a solid desire. And already when I entered the institute, I purposefully chose an institute for myself,” says Svyatoslav Morozov, a candidate for cosmonaut.

Svyatoslav Morozov has to solve mathematical problems again. “Control” work in free fall is the most important stage in the class schedule of the “school” of the CPC.

Perhaps the young designer Dmitry Mikhailov will design a new ship on which Svyatoslav Morozov will fly into space.

In the meantime, before the launch, in the installation and testing building at Baikonur, a design engineer is carefully monitoring the docking of the space warhead and the Zenit launch vehicle. The recent history of orbital research could not have happened without the participation of a recent MAI graduate.

“We notice that recently the interest of young people in astronautics has been increasing. We notice this in our sponsored schools, among first-year students. And somewhere from the 3rd to 4th year they “get attached” to their souls and “begin to burn” with interest in the profession,” says Oleg Alifanov, dean of the Aerospace Faculty of Moscow Aviation Institute.

The beginning of the academic year at the Moscow College of Space Instrumentation. The last pre-launch preparation before the flight into the orbit of knowledge.

For programmer Nikita Lozhkin, the best graduate of the technical school, there is always an open day here. It is like a reference point for freshmen.

“I see my future in the space field and will try to make devices that can replace humans somewhere. So that it’s not people who do it, but machines. If the car breaks down, you can make a new one. But if something happens to a person, God forbid, it can’t be returned,” says Nikita Lozhkin, a graduate of the Moscow College of Space Instrumentation. “We create all the conditions so that when the guys come to us, they understand what space is, what space romance is “,” says Vladimir Kireev, director of the Moscow College of Space Instrumentation.

How many times have many of you enjoyed watching films about space exploration? Or about what dangers there are, problems that arise or, conversely, discoveries? Personally, we do it all the time. The theme of space is one of the most beloved in cinema. And, sometimes, there is a regret that I was born quite a bit earlier than the time when all this would have already been a reality, and all that remains is to watch my favorite films again and again.

But we hasten to reassure you! It's not all that bad, actually. And for us, the young, there may still be a chance in the near future to experience all the delights of cosmic life, now available only to a select few. And even more so for our children. You just have to open your eyes a little and be convinced of the incredible progress that the space industry is currently making. After all, for those born in the 70-90s, the space industry found itself in a kind of stupor. The Cold War, as bad as it was, still had a significant positive impact on the development of research and development in this area. And after that there was only a period of stagnation. And we have all lost all hope that we will ever live on Mars.

But now everything is changing. The development of private commercial space exploration is in full swing. Flights are becoming cheaper and the world is already talking in all seriousness about space tourism and the use of space for private business purposes. What does it say, tickets for SpaceShip Two are sold out for years to come! Humanity is already, without any doubt, looking to the future of space, where there will be reconnaissance missions, exploration and landing on other planets, mining and production of resources in space. Everything that we have seen in films is gradually becoming reality.

Of course, in Russia so far all astronautics belongs to the state and only small subcontracts are sometimes given to private commerce. However, this too will change in the future, like the whole world. Notice how many new professions have appeared over the past two decades in all areas of our lives? Computers, robots, new technologies, etc. The same prospects await outer space. After some time, space will begin to be actively explored by various companies and private organizations, and vacancies like “We are looking for a geologist for exploration of deposits on Mars, a contract for 5 years” will become a completely natural phenomenon. Therefore, we bring to your attention a number of professions of the future, personnel for which, according to the assumptions of leading experts in this field, need to be trained now.

Life cycle designer of space structures

Specialist in the design of structures in outer space (near-Earth stations and stations on the Moon and asteroids).

Over the past half century alone, more than a dozen orbital stations have changed in space. Some of them were very small and consisted of 2-3 modules. Some are simply huge, like the ISS station, which is now rushing across the dark sky like a bright star. Just imagine: its length is more than 100m! The Chinese station has been spinning in orbit for 4 years now, and soon, according to plans, Russia will separate with its own orbital home. Well, it’s not worth talking about the number of satellites in orbit, because there are thousands of them.

It is planned to begin orbital commercial tourist flights by 2020. And after some time, flights to the ISS will be carried out. But this station is a scientific one and, although tourists still visit it now, it is mainly inhabited by scientists and engineers with specific goals. Therefore, it is not surprising that there have been discussions and projects of tourist space hotels for a long time. And this, of course, will require a completely different infrastructure and specialists.

All these technological structures, like everything else in our world, also have a shelf life and cannot work forever, no matter how sad it is. As practice shows, simply throwing unnecessary spare parts into space is not the best idea. Every year the danger of damage to satellites and stations in low-Earth orbit by space debris increases more and more. And in the same way, the number of spacecraft launched is growing every year.

So we can say with confidence that in the very near future there will be such a profession as “Space Structures Life Cycle Designer”, who will directly solve this problem and make additions to the developers’ design decisions regarding the subsequent disposal and reassembly of spacecraft, or solve these problems on site based on the technologies and components available to him. This profession will be most relevant for inhabited stations on the moon, other planets and even asteroids, where delivering new materials and spare parts is quite problematic.

Such a specialist will be faced with serious tasks and the need to make important decisions, because in many ways the future life path of not only the stations themselves, but also people will depend on them. Of course, new 3D printing technologies and reusable materials make the task easier in many ways. But in any case, this specialty is extraordinary and will require a number of important qualities from a professional. Such a person will need an understanding of technologies in many related industries, systems thinking, the ability to organize and systematize their work, accuracy and thrift, serious programming skills and, of course, knowledge of languages. So, if you see such qualities in yourself, you can safely take note of this most interesting profession.

Even though this specialty is still being formed in the field, and will appear approximately by 2020, you can already get a basic education to become such a designer in the future. Objectively, a specialist in such a field must have broad engineering skills and good erudition. Here you need to be a specialist in everything, and not just a narrow professional in a specific industry, in order to be able to solve problems associated with any equipment at stations.

Space tourism manager

A specialist who develops programs for visiting near-space, and subsequently, orbital complexes and other space structures (including lunar bases).

When going on vacation to the other side of the planet, it is already the norm for us to turn to a person who will select the best travel option, optimize all dates, deadlines and budgets, help with paperwork, etc., making our vacation as comfortable as possible. So why should outer space be any exception?

The development of space tourism leads to a strong development of infrastructure in space. Dozens of hotels, scientific and research stations, colonies, settlements, military bases, and industrial complexes will begin to appear. A person will have a choice that he often doesn’t want to make himself, right? Therefore, the profession “Space Tourism Manager” will become relevant after 2020 with the development of commercial space travel.

Now it seems to us that such a development of events is very distant, but in fact the beginnings of such a profession already exist. Did you know that there are already several private companies that organize tours to the ISS? Of course, it’s not cheap, and such companies don’t have a lot of clients. But if you are rich, you have a lot of money and you really want to go to space, then it is through such a company that you will have to plan your trip. In this case, you will be assigned a personal manager who will try to solve all problems that arise for you. So, do you think this profession is still far away? After all, she is already here.

At the moment, of course, such work is not much different from ordinary management and working with clients, but even now it forces one to understand all aspects of modern space tourism. What will happen in the future, when there will be many stations and companies flying into space? Of course, this will require all the qualities inherent in good account managers: organization, customer focus, communication and, of course, multilingualism. The ability to quickly and cleverly solve emerging difficulties will also be useful. But, of course, such work will be significantly different from ordinary travel on earth, because we will already be talking about space and other planets.

If you like this profession, then it makes sense to take care of getting a basic education now, because very soon highly qualified space tourism managers and guides will be in great demand. This is a specialty quite similar to existing tourism managers, so it’s not difficult to guess what kind of education you should receive.

Space engineer

A specialist servicing the near-Earth transport network and responsible for the development of transport flow corridors (both flights into orbit and transcontinental flights along ballistic trajectories) and synchronization of launches/starts on Earth (with an increase in the number of launches, taking into account the multiple increase in the number of objects in orbit ).

Once upon a time, when airplanes had just appeared and the first of them were flying across the Atlantic, no one could have imagined that such a profession as an air traffic controller would appear. However, now this is commonplace for us and we, without hesitation, constantly trust our lives to people of this specialization when setting off on a certain journey.

It is logical to assume that the same thing will happen in space. Now, it would seem, not many rockets are flying into orbit, and the chances of a collision are minimal. Satellites fly in their own orbits, stations in theirs. But this profession already exists in a completely rudimentary form. Who do you think regulates the orbits of all near-Earth orbital objects? At NASA, for example, there is a special person: the Head of Trajectory Operations, who constantly monitors the location of the ISS station and, if necessary, adjusts it (more recently, we all heard about interruptions in the operation of engines that correct the altitude of the station’s orbit). The same people lead near-Earth satellites.

Of course, in the future, with the development of commercial flights and a significant increase in their number, this profession will become much more extensive, and such people will be needed in large numbers. They will have to solve a lot of issues that are now standard for air traffic controllers, only in this case they will have to cover vast spaces above the surface of the earth and in space.

In addition to all the other qualities required by space controllers, the ability to quickly navigate an uncertain situation and make instant, thoughtful decisions will be extremely important for this profession. In addition, this work will require serious resistance to stress, much greater than that of current air traffic controllers. However, there will still be a difference with the modern analogy, since by the time this profession appears (after 2020), most of the regulation of movement in space will be transferred to automation and a person will only be required to observe, communicate and make important decisions.

Cosmobiologist

A specialist who studies the behavior of various biological systems (from viruses to animals and humans) in space conditions (in buildings, aircraft, planetary stations), studies the physiology and genetic changes of organisms, develops sustainable space ecosystems for orbital stations, lunar bases and long flights .

This profession, one might say, already exists today, only in its infancy. All functions of this specialty are currently performed by scientists located at the ISS station. It is thanks to their work, including in the field of studying the life of biological forms in conditions of weightlessness, that we know much more about space and its impact on us than even 10 years ago. But these scientists are pioneers, and their work in the future will no doubt be divided into many fields of activity, including cosmobiology.

Humanity, in fact, knows very little even about life on earth, let alone life in space. But for stations and colonial settlements you will need to study everything in great detail. It is impossible to constantly deliver food into space, as is being done now, so sooner or later we will come to the discovery of a new industry in space: the production and cultivation of food and animals. But this will be only one aspect of Cosmobiology.

In space, not only our body behaves completely differently, but also others, even microorganisms. Weightlessness or reduced gravity changes many orders and settings of the life cycle. So there will be a lot of work for biologists. Under no circumstances should you rely on luck, which means you need to study this area thoroughly. Many developments exist and have been time-tested even now: phytolighting, hydroponics and aeroponics and much more. Cosmobiologists will just need to adapt this to space conditions.

However, this profession will not be easy, but it will be incredibly interesting! Here you will need to go beyond what is known to mankind, because people of this profession will be setting foot on an unplowed field. Of course, they will need basic knowledge of biology. And by basic, in this case, we mean that such people should be first-class specialists who know everything about biology thoroughly. They will be basic in comparison with what cosmobiologists still have to study in space, so this is a very highly specialized profession.

However, if you think that you will need to sit in front of a microscope on a space station, then this is unlikely to be the case, because modern technology has come much further. Most likely, everything in this industry will be largely automated, and therefore microbiologists will also need knowledge in the IT field. In addition, project management skills, organization, and systems thinking will also be necessary. Communication skills and knowledge of languages will also not be superfluous, because in a limited space, like it or not, you will have to communicate with colleagues.

Do you want to become a cosmobiologist in the future? Then you still have enough time to become just a high-class terrestrial biologist now. Then, somewhere after 2020, you have every chance of starting to work in space.

Cosmogeologist

A specialist who is engaged in the exploration and extraction of minerals on the Moon and asteroids.

In this article, we talked quite a lot about the commercial exploration of space, but we never mentioned what exactly this commercial benefit for private companies is. And the benefits, as you can guess from the name of this profession, are very large. After all, we are talking about a large number of resources. And cosmogeology will be one of the leading professions of the future. Even now, on our home planet, exploration of deposits takes a long time and requires a lot of labor. And in space, in conditions of airless space, solar radiation and low gravity, much more problems will appear. However, the commercial benefits will exceed any possible costs.
Many films on the theme of space in the 80s and 90s supported precisely this concept of the exploration of airless space. Even the plot of the film “Alien” unfolded on the commercial cargo transport ship “Nostromo”, which was carrying 20 million tons of ore to Earth. But human consumption is growing every year, and many scientists are increasingly announcing the depletion of resource sources directly on our planet. So the prospects for cosmogeologists are enormous.

As with any other profession in space, such people will have to face many difficulties. Although we have been studying our solar system and all the planets in it for more than 50 years, and have even landed on many, we still know very little about the geology of celestial bodies. So space geologists will have to largely navigate the place, exploring and studying new soils, extracting new minerals and at the same time making a huge contribution to the study of our Universe, because in the depths of the planets, like in our own, many secrets of our origin are hidden.

This profession is very narrowly specialized: you will need to know the entire periodic table by heart, and determine the composition of the soil without looking at it only by touching it with your feet. But you have time to become a professional in your field, because this specialty is still only in the project and private companies still have a long way to go in space exploration to finally start sending “Cosmogeologists” there. However, don’t hesitate to put your education on hold! Because those same private companies that always think exclusively in terms of business and money will very quickly need to recoup all investments. And resource extraction is one of the first ways to return investment.
Cosmogeologists may have the hardest time. Their work will be dangerous and difficult, but at the same time extremely highly paid. And, we believe, the pleasure received will be immeasurable. Just imagine a picture where you are standing with a drilling machine on a distant planet and looking into the black space above your head and a distant dim body called the “Sun”. Although, it is likely that drilling and production will be fully automated, and the geologist’s task will only be control, study and research. So, undoubtedly, organization, frugality, systems thinking, communication and the ability to make extraordinary decisions are the necessary qualities.

Life support systems engineer

A specialist who maintains all systems that support human life in outer space.

This profession is perhaps the most important among all. Unique space plumbers! After all, all others will depend on people of this specialization. Any station, any colony must be provided with living space with minimal amenities: air, water, food, toilet. These are the attributes of our life, without which our existence and work would not be possible. Therefore, the profession “Life Support Systems Engineer” will be in high demand at any space facility where people will be located.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of object it will be: a scientific station or a space hotel. The only difference is in the requirements, while for tourist sites the requirements will be much higher. Such a specialist will have to solve many problems and maintain all systems in constant working order: the lives of all residents of the station will depend on this.

Of course, the profession is largely narrowly specialized, and will require such a person to thoroughly know all aspects of the operation of the equipment. And it will not be paid as highly as those of the same cosmobiologists or cosmogeologists. Nevertheless, it will be no less interesting work. A person will need self-organization, careful handling of equipment, programming skills and, of course, communication skills. For maintenance, of course, you will periodically have to go into outer space, or walk on the surface of planets and asteroids.

In this article we touched on an interesting industry that is now steadily gaining momentum. We have listed only some of the main professions that, in our opinion and in the opinion of many experts in these industries, will definitely appear in the near future, and therefore it is worth preparing for them now.

We are sure that many of you will be able to name dozens more necessary professions in space. And we invite you to do just that. Let's imagine more situations, industries and jobs of the future space that may appear in the next 10-20 years? For example, without a doubt, spaceship pilots will become a separate profession, space maintenance personnel, space ecologists and scavengers, repairmen and much more will appear. Your ideas and suggestions?

The most important thing is that these professions are real and truly in demand. Let's look at a world without science fiction movies and try to imagine the real needs of industries in outer space. And don’t forget to write what human qualities are paramount for the specialties you offer!

The 21st century is a time of great changes in the labor market: on the one hand, some professions are rapidly becoming obsolete and people in them are slowly beginning to be replaced by computers and robots, and on the other hand, many interesting specialties are emerging at the intersection of different fields of knowledge. In light of new professions, demands for workers in different industries are changing, who may become in demand in the near future and how you can build an educational trajectory now to get into the trend. Further about the specialists who search for minerals on asteroids, develop space tourism and design houses for colonizers.

Space tourism manager

Space tourism has officially existed since 2001, when American multimillionaire Dennis Tito went into low-Earth orbit on the Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft. He paid $20 million for 10 days of an unusual journey. The first tourist had to undergo not only a physical training course, but also, just in case, learn how to control a spaceship. Until 2010, eight more people managed to fly into orbit, after which the tourism program was temporarily curtailed due to an increase in the number of cosmonauts in the crew of the International Space Station - there were simply no free places left on the Soyuz for billionaires to land.

But in parallel, private space startups began to develop. SpaceX is developing Falcon rockets and the Dragon space capsule, which can send up to seven people to the space station. In 2012, the capsule managed to successfully reach the ISS and return - although the tests were carried out without a crew. Boeing is also working on its own space project, and Space Adventures, Ltd. plans to take tourists on a trip around the moon (such an unusual experience will cost $100 million per ticket). Several bright projects are also being prepared in the niche of suborbital flights: the famous tycoon Richard Branson founded the Virgin Galactic company for this purpose. Commercial flights were supposed to begin in 2015, but in 2014, the first SpaceShipOne ship crashed during a test launch. In February of this year, testing of a new ship model began. XCOR Aerospace is testing the Lynx suborbital spaceplane, which can take tourists to altitudes of up to 100 kilometers and still use a regular airport runway.

None of these projects have yet reached the stage of commercial use, but, according to experts, in the near future we will see a technological leap that will finally allow us to talk about space tourism as a separate industry. So there will be a demand for specialists capable of developing programs for visiting near-space, and subsequently, orbital complexes and other space structures (including lunar bases). Such a professional must combine creative thinking (a love of science fiction will certainly not hurt here) with an understanding of the technical limitations for human presence in space and the necessary safety measures. You can try to get a higher education in the field of rocket science (such programs, for example, are offered by the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University), and then upgrade your knowledge and skills in the field of tourism. Experience in organizing sports tours for extreme sports enthusiasts can also be a good basis.

Cosmobiologist

Science has been searching for extraterrestrial life since the second half of the twentieth century, and despite the fact that the chances of finding highly organized life forms on other planets are very small, there is still a chance of stumbling upon primitive organisms that can survive on other planets. Extremophiles, as they are called, exist on Earth: scientists know organisms that feel comfortable in ice, boiling water, acid, water from nuclear reactors, crystalline salts and toxic waste. It can be assumed that something similar is found, for example, in the glaciers of Mars or on some of the satellites of Jupiter. Several large research programs are dedicated to the search for life - for example, within the framework of the Biological Oxidant and Life Detection mission, it is planned to search for bacteria on Mars: lithotrophs (organisms that use inorganic substances as an energy source) and prototrophic microbes capable of synthesizing complex substances from a limited number of simple compounds. Moreover, as the prospect of colonization approaches, it becomes increasingly important to study how plants and animals fare in conditions of weightlessness and/or altered gravity, artificial atmospheres, and so on. Experiments are periodically conducted on the ISS.

Accordingly, specialists will be needed to study the unusual behavior of various biological systems in space and develop sustainable space ecosystems for orbital stations, lunar bases and long-term flights. In general, Matt Damon’s hero from “The Martian” is a very promising role model for a future biology student. You definitely can’t do without a bachelor’s degree in biology, but it’s also important to get into a suitable department - for example, at Moscow State University there is a laboratory of space biology at the Department of Biophysics. At the same time, you can engage in self-education: courses on astrobiology are available on the AcademicEarth and Coursera websites.

Cosmogeologist

Space can become useful for terrestrial industry: toxic waste can be disposed of in airless space, and minerals can be mined on the Moon and asteroids (according to research by astrophysicists, iron, gold, nickel, platinum and other valuable metals can be found there). This is a very time-consuming task, but it can pay off handsomely: a medium-sized asteroid (about 1.5 kilometers in diameter) contains metals worth 20 trillion dollars.

Startups for the industrial development of asteroids already exist - for example, Planetary Resources is developing technologies for the extraction of raw materials, minerals and volatile elements from planetoids closest to Earth, and Shackleton Energy is developing lunar deposits. Such projects will be happy to hire highly qualified specialists who understand geology and planetary science.

Life cycle designer of space structures

The colonization of other planets is no longer perceived as science fiction, but as a completely promising plan for the near future: in 2014, Roscosmos proposed the concept of lunar exploration, and the Dutch scientist and entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp launched Mars One, which should send the first settlers to Mars in 2023. It is assumed that the colonists of the Red Planet will live in a special residential module consisting of a network of rooms (each astronaut will have up to 50 square meters - this “apartment” will house a bedroom, a work area, a living room and a greenhouse for growing greenery). To create drinking water, this system will constantly recycle Martian soil, and electrical energy will be generated by thin-film solar panels.

Even if the deadlines for these ambitious projects have to be delayed by several years, in the foreseeable future there will be a demand for specialists in the design of space structures. Such specialists will need to understand architecture, engineering, new materials and technologies (for example, NASA has been actively exploring the capabilities of 3D printers in recent years). One of the likely educational trajectories is a bachelor’s degree in spacecraft design + additional architectural education.

The 21st century is a time of great changes in the labor market: on the one hand, some professions are rapidly becoming obsolete and people in them are slowly beginning to be replaced by computers and robots, and on the other hand, many interesting specialties are emerging at the intersection of different fields of knowledge. “Theories and Practices,” with the support of RVC, are launching a special project about new professions: we will explain the logic behind the changes in requests for workers in different industries, who may become in demand in the near future, and how you can build an educational trajectory now to get into the trend. In this issue, “Theories and Practices” talk about specialists who are looking for life on Mars and minerals on asteroids, developing space tourism and designing houses for colonizers.

Space tourism manager

Space tourism has officially existed since 2001 - it was then that American multimillionaire Dennis Tito went into low-Earth orbit on the Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft. He paid $20 million for 10 days of travel. The first tourist had to undergo not only a physical training course, but also, just in case, learn how to control a spaceship. Until 2010, eight more people managed to fly into orbit, after which the tourism program was temporarily curtailed due to an increase in the number of cosmonauts in the crew of the International Space Station - there were simply no free places left on the Soyuz for billionaires to land.

But in parallel, private space startups began to develop. SpaceX is developing Falcon rockets and the Dragon space capsule, which can send up to seven people to the space station. In 2012, the capsule managed to successfully reach the ISS and return - however, while the tests were carried out without a crew. Boeing is also working on its own space project, and Space Adventures, Ltd. plans to take tourists on a trip around the moon (such an unusual experience will cost $100 million per ticket). Several bright projects are also being prepared in the niche of suborbital flights: the famous tycoon Richard Branson founded the Virgin Galactic company for this purpose. Commercial flights were supposed to begin in 2015, but in 2014, the first SpaceShipOne ship crashed during a test launch. In February of this year, testing of a new ship model began. XCOR Aerospace is testing the Lynx suborbital spaceplane, which can take tourists to altitudes of up to 100 kilometers and still use a regular airport runway.

Cosmobiologist

Accordingly, specialists will be needed to study the behavior of various biological systems in space and develop sustainable space ecosystems for orbital stations, lunar bases and long-term flights. In general, Matt Damon’s hero from “The Martian” is a very promising role model for a future biology student. You definitely can’t do without a bachelor’s degree in biology, but it’s also important to get into a suitable department - for example, at Moscow State University there is a laboratory of space biology at the Department of Biophysics. At the same time, you can engage in self-education: courses in astrobiology are available on the AcademicEarth and Coursera websites.

Cosmogeologist

Life cycle designer of space structures

Even if the timing of these ambitious missions has to be delayed by several years, there will be a demand for specialists in the design of space structures in the foreseeable future. Such specialists will need to understand architecture, engineering, new materials and technologies (for example, NASA has been actively exploring the capabilities of 3D printers in recent years). One of the likely educational trajectories is a bachelor's degree in spacecraft design + additional architectural education.

An aerospace systems engineer is a key part of the complex structure of the space industry. The success of the mission and the life and health of the astronauts depend on it.

This specialist is a true creator who develops new designs and mechanisms. It embodies the wildest dreams of humanity, bringing together the fruits of the labor of various industry experts into a single picture.

An aerospace systems engineer develops the mechanisms of spacecraft and equipment: artificial satellites, rockets, and ground equipment to control their flight.

He must constantly learn something new, keep abreast of all new technologies and technological solutions. And also - to love physics, understand programming and have a craving for creativity, because you can’t do without it where something is being created with an eye to the future.

The space industry in Russia began to take shape in the 50s of the twentieth century and reached its heights with the launch of the first satellite and the first man into space. Now the industry needs fresh minds who can give it a new impetus for development - to make flights reliable, widespread and cheaper.

Today, space equipment solves practical rather than military problems. Satellites are the basis for GPS and GLONASS, for maps and photography, for weather observations and cellular communications.

Nowadays, private companies are increasing their success in the aerospace industry: American SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, domestic CJSC NPO Lepton, ScanEx and Dauria.

How to become a specialist?

Additional education

Find out more about possible career preparation programs while still at school age.

Basic vocational education

Percentages reflect the distribution of specialists with a certain level of education in the labor market. Key specializations for mastering the profession are marked in green.

Abilities and skills

Programming. Skills in writing and debugging code
Leadership and organizational skills. The ability to organize a group of specialists to work on solving a common problem, distribute roles in the team, and share responsibilities
Making decisions. Ability to quickly navigate situations and make important decisions at key moments
An integrated approach to problem solving. The ability to see a problem comprehensively, in context and, based on this, select the necessary pool of measures to solve it
Design and construction. Skills in creating a project of any mechanism or building, creating a prototype, layout or drawing
Machinery and equipment. Skills in working with specialized machinery and equipment, the ability to configure it correctly to solve professional problems
Operation and management. Controlling the operation of technical equipment or systems
Monitoring the operation of a technical device or system. Monitoring sensors and instruments to determine the health of a device or system
Systems approach. Ability to think systematically, understand the principles of interaction of elements in a system, interaction of the system and the external environment, understanding the reasons and features of changes in the system depending on external and internal factors
Working with diagrams and drawings. Ability to draw up and/or read various drawings, diagrams, plans, etc., skills in perceiving graphic information

Interests and preferences

Ingenuity. Ability to quickly find solutions in a variety of situations using non-standard methods
Openness to new things. Ability to stay abreast of new technical information and work-related knowledge
Creative skills. Ability to make creative decisions, accept and create fundamentally new ideas
Lots of ideas. Ability to generate a large number of ideas in a short time
Analytical thinking. Ability to analyze and forecast a situation, draw conclusions based on available data, and establish cause-and-effect relationships
Learning ability. The ability to quickly assimilate new information and apply it in further work
Technical thinking. Ability to understand technology, make decisions that require understanding of the technical and engineering side of the issue, technical savvy
Originality of thinking. Ability to generate unusual ideas and propose non-standard solutions
Visualization. Ability to imagine the end result before it is actually received

Profession in persons

Alexander Kuzmin

Irina Sorokina

Mikhail Berezentsev

Stanislav Karpenko

Alexey Shalimov

Galina Samorodskaya

Already in the 19th century, Russian officer Alexander Zasyadko began to develop the theory of rockets and carried out calculations to send a rocket to the Moon. The design of the first rocket for interplanetary communications was presented in 1903 by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who worked on the theory of jet propulsion.

The mass of the Sun accounts for 99.2 percent of the mass of the entire solar system.

According to most historians, the origins of rockets date back to the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), when gunpowder was discovered and used for fireworks and entertainment. The force generated by the explosion of a powder charge was sufficient to move various objects.