Educationally, what do astronauts really need to know?

Thanks for asking this. I worked on the space side of the aerospace business as a contractor my entire career, including time at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston where astronauts live and work, and at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL where rocket engines are built and tested, and throughout my career doing engineering work on most of the programs you can think of related to manned space flight, yet this is the first time I’ve seen anybody express an interest in becoming an astronaut since I was a kid in the 1970s and started work in the 1980s. There was a time when kids aspired to be astronauts and even to be President. Thank you for your question and your interest in astronauts and in pursuing a career that you already know will be challenging for both its curriculum and for the necessary skills it will also teach you to properly prepare yourself for the rough times in school commensurate with the innate criticality and importance of an astronaut’s responsibilities or indeed of someone in an equivalent position in another field (should you so decide) because in selecting and completing such a challenging task you will have constructed the road to your own exciting and fulfilling career.

I’ve talked to a couple of astronauts, new one fairly well, and I was a flight controller at Johnson Space Center on the Shuttle program so I knew a few controllers as well. Since Shuttle, there have been two categories of astronaut careers: the first is pilots, and the second is mission specialists (scientists). Most major countries have put astronauts on Shuttle or Station and/or their own vehicles and stations and have their own requirements, but I’ll just talk about ours. NASA minimum requirements (see link) for all astronaut candidates are as follows: (1) Bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, or math, (2) three years of professional experience that can include advanced degrees (in same subjects) and teaching – or – 1000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft, (3) ability to pass the NASA long-duration astronaut physical, (4) near and far visual acuity must be correctable to 20/20 for each eye, and glasses are allowed. All the above requirements must be met prior to application. Note that candidates must pass a swim test because during the two-year astronaut training program, candidates must complete military water survival training and become SCUBA qualified prior to beginning EVA training. You also can’t be super-tall or super-short because you have to fit inside existing EVA suits (there are actual numbers that have to be met but I did not get them for this).

https://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/broch00.htm

Now let’s talk about competition. The last batch of astronaut applicants was in 2016, and there were ~18,000 applicants for 120 spots. I know you asked for educational requirements, but I included all minimum requirements to emphasize that a Bachelor’s degree really is a minimum. I submit that you should seriously consider a PhD as a practical minimum and ideally your areas of study, research, and experience should be focused on issues associated with the impact of long-duration spaceflight on our frail human bodies, vehicles to get to and from Moon and Mars bases, setting up those bases with the idea of long-term habitation for scientific research, commercial development, and other value-added reasons for humans to be there. Success in these areas will be critical to maintaining sovereign and private investment and thereby continuing manned space exploration.

God bless you on this planet or any other that you choose.