No Spacesuit? No Problem. You Can Still Work in Space!

Mary Upritchard

InnovaSpace Admin Director & Space Fan!

When most people think about the type of person who will work in space, the image that springs to mind is that of an astronaut in a bulky white suit floating around outside the International Space Station! That is certainly a part of the story, however the exploration of space needs a lot more than just rocket pilots. In fact, some of the astronauts who will launch this week (July 31st 2025* - Crew-11) come from surprising backgrounds. One of them, Zena Cardman, didn’t start out flying planes or building rockets — she studied microbes in mud and explored caves and Antarctic ice looking for life in extreme environments.
Another of the astronauts, Kimiya Yui from Japan, started out in the Japanese Air Force and later trained with engineers and scientists before becoming an astronaut. Theirs and other stories like them prove that you don’t have to be a math genius or science whiz to have a future in space!
*note: launch delayed to 1st August 2025 due to weather constraints

Crew-11: Pilot Mike Fincke & Commander Zena Cardman (pictured right), Oleg Platonov & Kimiya Yui (pictured left)
​Image credits: NASA

Space Needs Everyone - Below are just a few of the surprising roles that play a huge part in exploring the cosmos:

• Writers & Communicators – NASA hires science storytellers to explain missions to the world.
• Lawyers - Space law is real! We need legal minds to navigate treaties, satellite rights, and even the ethics of space mining.
• Doctors & Biologists – Astronauts need medical support, and we need people studying how the human body changes in space, such as our very own aerospace medicine specialist Prof Thais Russomano.
• Plumbers - Plumbing is critical—someone has to make sure the water systems (and toilets!) work on the ISS and future Moon bases.
• Artists & Designers – Someone has to design mission patches, build virtual training tools, and even help plan future habitats.
• Gamers & Coders – In fact, video game skills translate well to robot control and navigation.

Whether you're into fashion, food, fitness, or filmmaking... there is room within space exploration for all of these talents and more.

How to get started then?

• Get curious. Follow NASA, ESA, and/or JAXA on social media.
• Take advantage of any free courses on space science you can find (NASA has a few on their STEM site, as does ESA).
• Begin to build up your own “space CV”—how could you get involved and what could you bring to the table?

This month’s Crew-11 mission is a perfect reminder that there are many different routes to becoming an astronaut and that you don’t necessarily have to wear a spacesuit to be part of the mission. The space world needs your skills, passion, and creativity—because it’s not just about going up… it’s about reaching out and building for the future of space exploration.

Who knows... maybe there is a little corner of space for me too on the Moon or Mars one day?!! 😉