At JSC, the astronauts train in the world's largest swimming pool. It is called the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. The pool holds 6.2 million gallons of water. It is more than two football fields long and 40 feet deep. At the bottom of the pool, there is a true-to-life model of the International Space Station. When the space shuttle was flying, they use to have a full size space shuttle model under the water.
To train in the pool, astronauts put on their spacesuits and swim underwater. They learn to use equipment underwater. They also practice space walks. Astronauts train about ten hours under water for every one hour that they spend walking in space.
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| Neutral Buoyancy Lab and Mock-up International Space Station. Photo courtesy NASA. |
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| International Space Station full size model. Photo courtesy NASA. |
JSC Space Training
Did you ever want to be an astronaut? I wanted to be a Space Dog! The first dog in space was named Laika. If you would like to learn more about Laika and other animals in space, just click here: Roxanne the Space Dog
Would you like to train like an astronaut? We found two NASA videos just for you!
For more fun videos, you can click here to go to NASA's website but first please ask an adult if it's okay! Train Like an Astronaut
You can also check out these great books at your library:
- Astronauts: Training for Space (Countdown to Space) by Michael Cole
- Career As An Astronaut: What They Do, How to Become One, and What the Future Holds! by Brian Rogers
- I Want to Be an Astronaut by Stephanie Maze
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