Anything astronauts do in space is practiced dozens of times on the ground -- whether it's attaching a new piece of equipment to the space station during a spacewalk or growing cell cultures to better understand how cancer forms.

Professional trainers ensure that astronauts not only understand every task they will do in space, but that they understand the intricacies of the equipment and systems with which they will be working.

The Making of an Astronaut : A New Beginning
NASA’s 2004 astronaut candidate class was the first chosen as NASA embarked on the Vision for Space Exploration, and included the first educator astronauts who will help inspire the next generation of explorers.

Read their journals about flight training, water survival training and more!

The Making of an Astronaut : ISS Training
Astronauts training for extended stays at the International Space Station spend 18 months preparing for their missions.

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations
The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, program sends groups of NASA employees and contractors to live in Aquarius -- the world's only underwater laboratory -- for up to two weeks at a time. For NASA, Aquarius provides a convincing analog to the International Space Station, and NEEMO crewmembers experience some of the same tasks and challenges underwater as they would in space.

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
The Sonny Carter Training Facility near Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, provides controlled neutral buoyancy operations to simulate the zero-g or weightless condition that is experienced by spacecraft and crew during space flight. The facility provides important preflight training for spacewalks, familiarizing future crewmembers with the dynamics of body motion under weightless conditions.

Facilities and Projects

United Space Alliance
NASA's prime space shuttle contractor provides personnel and hardware for training crewmembers, preparing them for the tasks they will perform during upcoming missions.

Meet the People