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India Today
3 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Want to fly to space? Here's how to become an astronaut
Ever since the first Star Trek movie, millions have imagined themselves aboard a spaceship, floating among stars, navigating black holes, or setting foot on distant planets. Films like Interstellar, Gravity, and The Martian have only fuelled that dream. On June 25, 2025, Subhanshu Shukhla created history, by becoming the second Indian citizen to fly into space. He did so on a joint mission of ISRO, NASA and many in India, the dream of becoming an astronaut isn't just science fiction anymore -- it's starting to feel real, especially with the rapid advancements ISRO has been making. But interest alone isn't enough. Taking part in science and maths Olympiads, or even NASA-backed competitions, can really help build the and NASA offer several internships to give students hands-on experience from a young age. One question that comes up a lot is -- do you need a full degree, or can a short course be enough? That's something we're going to break down ISRO's growing space ambitions and missions like Gaganyaan on the horizon, this is the perfect time to work on your astronaut dreams. Indian and Indian-origin astronauts who've travelled to space (Image: Several) advertisementBut how does one actually become an astronaut in India? Here's a step-by-step guide.1. START WITH THE RIGHT EDUCATIONBeing an astronaut is not just a career -- it's a job role that requires deep specialisation. Despite the fact that most astronauts only get a chance to fly once or twice in their lifetime, becoming one demands expertise in areas like aerospace engineering, space science, military aviation or test piloting, robotics, medicine, or journey begins in the classroom, where a strong foundation in science and mathematics is completing Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, and Maths (PCM), students should aim for a bachelor's degree in fields like engineering, physical sciences, biological sciences, mathematics, or aeronautical astronauts continue serving as engineers, scientists, or military officers between missions, contributing to research, training, and mission those drawn to aircrafts, rockets, and the mechanics of flight, aeronautical or aerospace engineering is a natural of the top institutions offering these courses are the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Thiruvananthapuram -- ISRO's own academic wing -- along with IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, and Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), remember that the 2023 Lunar South Pole landing was pulled off by Indian researchers hailing from small-town colleges. IITs are definitely not the only route to space!advertisementRelevant courses that will take you to space can dive into everything from space propulsion and flight mechanics to satellite design and thermal systems -- topics you'll later find inside real also gives students a closer look into space work through internship programmes, where budding scientists can contribute to real research -- be it satellite systems or mission planning. Students can keep an eye on the official ISRO website for all its offerings for school and college students. Image: NASA And if you're a top performer at IIST, there's an even bigger reward: direct recruitment to ISRO, without any additional short, choosing the right degree and college isn't just about a certificate -- it's about building the tools you'll one day need in orbit.2. BE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY FITFloating in zero gravity may look effortless in movies, but the reality is far more face intense physical and mental challenges while in space -- from bone loss and muscle weakening to psychological stress. That's why being physically and mentally fit isn't just a requirement -- it's a stepping into a space suit, candidates must pass a series of strict medical and fitness include having perfect or near-perfect vision, normal blood pressure, excellent heart and lung function, and a healthy body something as simple as motion sickness can disqualify a space doesn't just test the body -- it tests the mind. Astronauts live in confined, high-pressure environments for weeks or months, often without real-time contact with must work with international teams, perform emergency tasks, and manage technical failures with calm and precision. So agencies look for people who can stay focused, emotionally stable, and alert under often includes survival exercises, zero-gravity simulations, high-G training, underwater operations, and even isolation tests that simulate the psychological effects of long space missions. (Image: Wikimedia Commons) advertisementIn short, being an astronaut means training like an elite athlete -- not just to stay strong, but to stay sharp. Those who make it through aren't just smart -- they're tough, adaptable, and ready to face the unknown.3. ALTERNATE ROUTE: JOIN THE AIR FORCEAstronauts in a large number around the world come from backgrounds in aviation, engineering, or science -- and India is no different, with both Indian citizens, Rakesh Sharma and Subhanshu Shukla, who have travelled to space coming from the Indian Air of the most direct and recognised routes to space in India is through the Indian Air Force (IAF).Many space agencies, including ISRO and NASA, prefer candidates who have experience in high-risk, high-discipline environments like military you've ever dreamed of flying fighter jets or handling complex aircraft systems, this could be your start, students can apply to the National Defence Academy (NDA) after Class 12 or pursue engineering and then join the Air Force completing rigorous training, you can become a fighter pilot and later qualify as a test pilot, which is often a critical requirement for crewed space pilots are trained to fly newly developed or modified aircraft under extreme conditions -- skills that closely mirror what astronauts face in into test pilot training is highly competitive. After gaining flight experience, candidates undergo specialised training at institutes like the Air Force Test Pilot School in Bengaluru or sometimes there, they can be shortlisted by agencies like ISRO for spaceflight missions, especially with India preparing for its first crewed mission under the Gaganyaan programme.4. ADVANCED TRAINING AND SPECIALISATIONAstronaut candidates often need additional training in areas like aviation, robotics, zero-gravity, survival skills, and space from the IAF are often already trained pilots, but others may need to undergo special upcoming human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, is expected to open more opportunities for civilian candidates in the future. For the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO selected test pilots from the IAF and sent them to Russia for astronaut training in collaboration with ISRO expands its human spaceflight programme, more openings are expected for engineers, scientists, and possibly civilians in future astronaut selection rounds. Staying updated on ISRO announcements, exams, and training programmes will be the Gaganyaan mission and future space plans on the rise, India is opening new doors for those aiming for takes years of hard work, discipline, and the right training, but for those who make it, the reward is a chance to carry the Indian flag into space.- Ends
Indian Express
17-06-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Can you travel back to the past? Films say yes, science isn't so sure
Time travel has been part of the popular imagination for long. From science fiction classics like The Time Machine and Back to the Future to contemporary films like Interstellar played on the notion of slipping through time — whether to witness the past, and even be a part of it, or to glimpse the future. But the very idea raises profound questions about physics, causality, and the nature of reality itself. Is time travel possible? And if so, under what conditions? Time travel as a concept predates modern physics. H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (1895) introduced it as a literary device, but it wasn't until the 20th century that science began to grapple with the possibility in earnest. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity showed that time is not absolute or constant — it can stretch and compress depending on the speed at which you travel and gravity. In 1949, the logician Kurt Gödel, a close associate of Einstein, proposed that under certain exotic conditions — such as a rotating universe — it might be possible to trace a path through spacetime that loops back into the past. Einstein was reportedly disturbed by the implications. Although his equations didn't explicitly forbid time travel, they suggested a universe far stranger than he was comfortable with. In fact, we're all time travelers, constantly moving forward at the steady rate of one second per second. But general relativity allows for more dramatic effects. Clocks on high-speed spacecraft or near massive objects like black holes tick more slowly relative to those on Earth, a phenomenon confirmed by experiments using atomic clocks on airplanes and satellites. This is why astronauts on the International Space Station age a tiny bit more slowly than the rest of us. Traveling backward in time, however, poses far greater challenges. Theoretical constructs such as wormholes — shortcuts through spacetime — or closed timelike curves might permit backward travel, at least on paper. Physicists like Kip Thorne have explored these ideas, but all rely on speculative ingredients like 'negative energy,' which has never been observed in the required form or quantity. Even if time machines could be built, they raise troubling logical paradoxes. The most famous is the grandfather paradox: what happens if you travel back and prevent your grandparents from meeting? If you were never born, how did you travel back in the first place? One proposed resolution is the Novikov self-consistency principle, which asserts that any events in the past caused by a time traveler must be consistent with the history that gave rise to the traveler. Alternatively, some theories in quantum mechanics suggest the existence of branching universes — where each change spawns a new, parallel timeline, thus avoiding contradictions. Still, the paradoxes remain a sticking point. Stephen Hawking, a noted skeptic, once hosted a 'party for time travelers' but sent out the invitations only after the event. No one came. Science fiction has explored these dilemmas with enthusiasm and creativity. In Back to the Future, small changes to the past ripple through to the present. In Interstellar, time dilation near a black hole causes years to pass on Earth in what feels like minutes to the protagonist — a scenario rooted in real physics. And in Avengers: Endgame, quantum time travel is introduced, though it serves more as narrative convenience than scientific plausibility. These portrayals, while imaginative, underscore the central challenge: even if time travel is mathematically permitted, making it physically possible is another matter altogether. At present, there is no experimental evidence that time travel to the past is possible. Most physicists believe that quantum effects, energy constraints, or deep features of spacetime geometry would ultimately prevent it. Some even argue that time travel could violate the second law of thermodynamics, which dictates that entropy — disorder — always increases, thereby giving time its 'arrow.' Nevertheless, time travel remains a topic of legitimate scientific exploration. It tests the boundaries of our understanding of spacetime and causality. It also tests the interplay between general relativity and quantum mechanics — two theories that, to this day, remain fundamentally incompatible. Why are we so fascinated by time travel? Perhaps because it represents the ultimate form of agency — the power to revisit lost moments, correct mistakes, or witness beginnings. But time, for now, seems to move only forward. Still, as our theories of the universe deepen, and our technology improves, the question remains open — even if only slightly. Until then, time travel may continue to thrive best not in laboratories, but in the pages of books and on cinema screens, where imagination travels faster than any particle known to physics. Shravan Hanasoge is an astrophysicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
CairoScene
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
‘Memento' to Screen in Saudi Cinemas For the First Time
Marking its 25th anniversary, 'Memento' will also return to theatres across the MENA region. 'Memento', the cult psychological thriller that launched Christopher Nolan's career, is set to hit Saudi cinemas for the first time starting June 19th. Distributed by Front Row Filmed Entertainment, the re-release brings the iconic non-linear film to the big screen across the Middle East and North Africa in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The film's theatrical debut in Saudi Arabia follows a string of successful Nolan re-releases in the region, including 'Interstellar' and 'Inception'. In addition to Saudi Arabia, 'Memento' will screen in theatres across the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.
Axios
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Sci-fi movies that'll make you cry about your dad
Want to feel emotional about fatherhood this Father's Day? Watch sci-fi. The big picture: Sci-fi films often use fantastical plots to explore something deeply human: the love and heartbreak of the parent-child bond. Zoom in:"The Empire Strikes Back" is about interplanetary war — and unresolved daddy issues. "Interstellar" is about secret space travel — and the grief of being a dad watching your kids grow up. "Contact" is about extraterrestrial communication — and the power of a father-daughter bond. The list goes on. And there are plenty of sci-fi titles about motherhood, too — " Arrival" and " Terminator 2," to name a couple. Zoom out: What better way to capture the vastness of the parent-child connection than through the language of the cosmos? And at the same time, "parenthood is a very clean, direct way" to make stories with fairies, aliens or multiple dimensions "emotionally recognizable," says TV writer Marc Bernardin ("Star Trek: Picard," "Carnival Row"). "It also kind of lumps in with the feeling of being lost in a world bigger than you are, and trying to find some sense of comfort in that loss," he tells Axios. You don't have to be a parent to connect with the themes. FWIW: George Lucas wasn't a dad when he made the first couple of "Star Wars" films, and James Cameron didn't have children before the first two "Terminator" movies came out. Between the lines: There's a pattern worth noting. Many of these stories are haunted by loss — often a parent or child. You already know this if you watch enough movies and, in Bernardin's apt wording, "start to see the code of the matrix." From the writer's perspective, when you're more than 30 minutes into the movie about to crest into the second act, "we need to propel our hero out of the comfort of the womb," Bernardin says, speaking metaphorically. "How do we do that? Somebody's gotta go." Carly's thought bubble: Last year, pregnant and weepy during a sci-fi movie marathon, I realized how deeply the genre explores parent-child bonds. "Arrival" and "Dune: Part Two" are now two of my favorite films. (Yes, I'm a Denis Villeneuve fan.) The former is my biggest personal tearjerker, and I'm convinced that the latter — which I saw in theaters twice — encouraged my baby to kick for the first time. We're re-watching "Interstellar" for my husband's first Father's Day. And this line from Matthew McConaughey's character lingers with me: "Once you're a parent, you're the ghost of your children's future." OK, one more, from Anne Hathaway's character:"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can't understand it." Father's Day movie picks Let screenwriter Colby Day ("Spaceman," "In the Blink of an Eye" out this year) be your personal Blockbuster salesperson with five of his recommendations for Father's Day sci-fi films: 1. "Contact" (1997) " Based on a story from one of the fathers of modern science writing, Carl Sagan, this explores the intersection of faith and science. The hero's entire journey is at its core the story of a father-daughter relationship." 2. "Children of Men" (2006) " What would our world look like without any children? Pretty bad! Clive Owen plays a reluctant hero and reluctant father figure in a sci-fi movie that also has enough action for the dads." 3. "Interstellar" (2014) "Our generation's 'The Odyssey,' a science fiction myth of epic proportions about a man leaving his family behind to hopefully save the world, and in the process nearly losing himself." 4. "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" (2021) " A really special father-daughter depiction and family film that also happens to have evil robots." 5. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001)
Extra.ie
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Dr Norah Patten on the less glamorous side of space training
When you picture astronaut training, chances are you're imagining extremely serious, Hans Zimmer soundtracked scenes from the likes of Interstellar, Gravity or Ad Astra. Chances are you're probably not picturing a Ballina woman perfecting her zero gravity approach; however, Dr. Norah Patten: engineer and Ireland's very own spacebound trailblazer, is the REAL face of space exploration in 2025. As she edges closer to becoming the first Irish person in space, Norah's training regimen is, as you'd expect; rigorous, technical, and full of acronyms. But it also comes with a healthy dose of chaos and very human moments. She sat down with this week to lift the visor on what really goes on behind the scenes of astronaut prep. When you picture astronaut training, chances are you're imagining extremely serious, Hans Zimmer soundtracked scenes from the likes of Interstellar, Gravity or Ad Astra. Pic: Facebook 'I think with social media, it's been great having that as a platform to share some of the some of the preparation we do, and some of the programs that we've we've worked on,' she began. 'I think people like to hear about the kind of quirky things…for example, the microgravity flights are often named 'the vomit comet' because people get motion sick on them. 'Because you're flying in this trajectory on the aircraft where it's like you're flying up and down, and you're getting this 20 seconds of weightlessness, and you then transition into like a 2g pull, so everything becomes heavy, and often in those transitions, people can get motion sick and and so people often like to hear, did you get sick? You know, and what do you eat in advance?' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aer Lingus (@aerlingus) Norah sees her pre-flight meal as an essential part of the launch day routine, admitting she has it down to a 'fine art' by now. 'I know a chicken wrap, a plain chicken wrap, maybe two and a half hours before I fly and I'm perfect. I haven't gotten sick. If you don't eat, you're more likely to get sick. So there's all these combinations.' Another lesser-known but entirely practical part of space preparation is the use of adult nappies—yes, even astronauts have to think about bathroom breaks when suited up, with Norah spilling the beans on the less glamorous side of space exploration. Chances are you're probably not picturing a Ballina woman perfecting her zero gravity approach, however, Dr. Norah Patten: engineer and Ireland's very own spacebound trailblazer is the REAL face of space exploration in 2025. Pic: Instagram/ Dr Norah Patten 'It's a maximum absorbency garment, it's a mag, and you actually wear those on the space flight. Astronauts wear them on the way to the space station. It's just, if you did have to go to the toilet, there's no toilets on the spacecraft. So what do you do? You wear a mag on your space flight. I think it's those interesting little facts that people like to get a sense of that the human side.' Norah's journey has also quietly transformed her into a role model for a new generation of space enthusiasts, especially in Ireland. Her presence in the space world shows young people—particularly girls and those from underrepresented communities—that space isn't just for a select few. It's a career path that can start with stargazing in Mayo and lead all the way to orbit. As she edges closer to becoming the first Irish person in space, Norah's training regimen is, as you'd expect; rigorous, technical, and full of acronyms. But it also comes with a healthy dose of chaos and very human moments. She sat down with this week to lift the visor on what really goes on behind the scenes of astronaut prep. Pic: Facebook 'It's sometimes hard to put into words, because it's something I don't for one second take for granted,' she remarked of her newfound fame. 'Sometimes I get recognized out, you know, with little kids coming up, and they're like, 'oh, there's Nora!' And it's really, really special to see. 'I just want to be able to use the flight as a means of engaging with as many, not just kids, adults too, in Ireland, just to share what we're doing, inspire them and If there was some big dream or ambition they had, to find possible routes to make it happen.' Norah has been selected for a mission on board Virgin Galactic's second generation of spacecraft that will hopefully launch in 2026 Aer Lingus has since partnered with Dr Patten ahead of her historic space mission, with the Irish airline proudly flying Norah as she crosses the Atlantic while undertaking this vital space research.
