Jun 3, 2026 · 42 min · 13 segments
Join us as we explore the fascinating world of space, astronaut training, and how space industry insights can inspire careers. Thomas Mueller, founder of Austronaut, shares his journey from STEM…
Thomas MuellerGuest
Mark HodgsonHost
I don't know whether the answer to this is bleeding obvious or whether it's a good question, but what are the main differences? So if I'm doing astronaut boot camp, what are the considerations that are space specific that we need to think about that you've kind of catered for in your curriculum or your offerings?
So the medical side is obviously like a huge thread of astronaut training or astronaut preparation.
First of all, the ability to prevent injuries from occurring if one was to go on a space flight also aligns pretty well with basically anti-aging exercise.
Cardiovascular deconditioning is an effect of, again, the microgravity environment.
So astronaut boot camp or astronaut boot camp would include what do you need to know to if you wanted to go down the career pathway or put yourself in the game for becoming an astronaut you should probably be doing these types of exercises long before you get selected right so you're familiar with them so you know that you have a certain minimum cardiovascular capability that you have a certain minimum muscular strength that you can do the compound exercises bench press squats deadlifts they basically do on the exercise equipment that's on the space station so That's one core aspect for that.
And then I would say you'd want to know how to operate in a small team in an extreme environment.
If you've never been camping before, then I think that's the first place to start.
You know, limited equipment, limited rations, dealing with the same three or four people across a 72-hour period or something like that.
So stuff like that is, I think, one sort of type of product that Astronaut can offer.
So the medical, the physical, and also the psychological piece, I mean, I can't remember, I've just watched that movie, I can't remember what it's called now, where they save the planet by going out to Mars or something, and it's that deep space travel and in space or some kind of suspended amination for 20 years.
And So those are very real challenges and studies, a lot of study in those areas, aren't there, about how you actually cope with the kind of long periods of time that sustain space travel.
Just before we go on to the next point, I just want to say the psychological aspect opens a huge door to different types of I don't know, for lack of a better word, products and services that people might be interested in.
Because, you know, especially in COVID, people were using astronauts and space stations and space missions as an example of how people can be resilient to isolation and confinement.
What kind of behaviors and attitudes do you need to make sure you can, you know, like... deal with that situation in a mentally healthy way.
I don't know whether the answer to this is bleeding obvious or whether it's a good question, but what are the main differences? So if I'm doing astronaut boot camp, what are the considerations that are space specific that we need to think about that you've kind of catered for in your curriculum or your offerings?
So the medical side is obviously like a huge thread of astronaut training or astronaut preparation.
First of all, the ability to prevent injuries from occurring if one was to go on a space flight also aligns pretty well with basically anti-aging exercise.
Cardiovascular deconditioning is an effect of, again, the microgravity environment.
So astronaut boot camp or astronaut boot camp would include what do you need to know to if you wanted to go down the career pathway or put yourself in the game for becoming an astronaut you should probably be doing these types of exercises long before you get selected right so you're familiar with them so you know that you have a certain minimum cardiovascular capability that you have a certain minimum muscular strength that you can do the compound exercises bench press squats deadlifts they basically do on the exercise equipment that's on the space station so That's one core aspect for that.
And then I would say you'd want to know how to operate in a small team in an extreme environment.
If you've never been camping before, then I think that's the first place to start.
You know, limited equipment, limited rations, dealing with the same three or four people across a 72-hour period or something like that.
So stuff like that is, I think, one sort of type of product that Astronaut can offer.
So the medical, the physical, and also the psychological piece, I mean, I can't remember, I've just watched that movie, I can't remember what it's called now, where they save the planet by going out to Mars or something, and it's that deep space travel and in space or some kind of suspended amination for 20 years.
And So those are very real challenges and studies, a lot of study in those areas, aren't there, about how you actually cope with the kind of long periods of time that sustain space travel.
Just before we go on to the next point, I just want to say the psychological aspect opens a huge door to different types of I don't know, for lack of a better word, products and services that people might be interested in.
Because, you know, especially in COVID, people were using astronauts and space stations and space missions as an example of how people can be resilient to isolation and confinement.
What kind of behaviors and attitudes do you need to make sure you can, you know, like... deal with that situation in a mentally healthy way.
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