A comprehensive 9-week course filled with lessons, activities, exercises, and live group sessions to provide you with the foundational human performance knowledge and skills necessary to prepare you for an analog mission.


This course is perfect for you if:

  • You've never done an analog mission
  • You've been selected for a mission and now you don't know how to prepare
  • You're last mission didn't go well
  • You're already an analog astronaut but you want a fresh perspective


This course is NOT for you if:

  • You want a quick and easy way to become a “certified” analog astronaut
  • You want to check the next box
  • You want something that looks fancy on a resume/CV


Most training provided by habitat directors and mission organizers are focused around the systems and operations of the habitat, research experiments, and emergency procedures. Although this training is very important and critical to mission success, there is quite a bit missing.

What about all the stuff before that? What about...

  • Physical capabilities and the physical requirements of the mission?
  • Injury prevention while in the field and during exercise inside the habitat?
  • Mental fitness to promote a healthy mind?
  • Team cohesion, communication, and managing conflict?
  • The knowledge and skills to reducing and managing human errors?



Course Highlights

JEDI Space Training with Astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor


In this course, you will get a private J.E.D.I. Space Training session with astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor. During the workshop, you will learn how to define a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space.

She will share her inspiring story of how she combated imposter syndrome and how she went from analog astronaut to SpaceX Inspiration 4 Astronaut, and how she combated imposter syndrome.

Mission Patch Meaning and Design with a Veteran Space Patch Designer


All candidates will work together to design a mission patch that represents your unique cohort with expert guidance from Tim Gagnon.

Tim has designed numerous patches for NASA Flight Crews.

At the end of the course, each candidate will receive one free patch with the option to purchase additional patches.

EVA Endurance Training Program


Start your physical training off right with an 8-week EVA Endurance Training Program delivered to you in PDF format.

Course author, Emily Apollonio, has combined her experience as a fitness coach, competitive CrossFit athlete, and rucking junkie to bring you the fundamentals of physically preparing for an analog mission.

Live Virtual Session with TedX Speaker and Expert Nutritionist Christina Valagkouti


Nutrition is a very important part of overall well-being, whether its during the preparation stage of an analog mission, during, or after. Christina will share with you the importance of proper nutrition and its role in cognitive and physical performance.

Christina has worked with astronauts and analog astronauts on proper nutrition. She will help you understand how to fuel your body in order to complete tasks and perform under extreme conditions - what very few humans have been capable of!"

Ingress and Onboarding

You will have access to this content as soon as you register! Here you will find the course syllabus, setup instructions, and all the necessary-evils of administrative tasks and getting to know the course!

Define your Space

Kick off the course by learning what it means to be a STAR Candidate, understand the analog space, meet your peers, and participate in a workshop led by astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor.

Nutrition and Sleep

Are you getting proper nutrition and adequate sleep? Understanding their role on physical and cognitive performance will prepare you for an analog mission. You'll also learn the challenges, what to expect, and how to mitigate those challenges during a mission.

Physical Fitness

Learn how to reach your peak physical performance and prevent injuries through the basic functional movements, workouts specifically for EVA endurance, and exercise during an analog mission.

Mental Fitness

Isolated, confined, and extreme environments are certainly no joke when it comes to your mental health. There is a lot we'll unpack here covering things like emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and mental toughness!

Human Factors (pt. 1)

An introductory to human factors from the perspective of human errors! We will use research-backed models and frameworks that are used by NASA and even in the aviation industry, to learn the root of human errors and how to assess risks.

Human Factors (pt. 2)

Diving a little deeper into human factors to uncover the truth about situational awareness demons, hazardous attitudes, and various types of workloads. You'll also learn strategies on how to manage them during analog missions.

Communication

Communication can really make or break your mission. You'll learn the various methods of communication and communication styles. We will also lead you through exercises to learn and practice some of the best communication techniques.

Crew Cohesion

Analog missions can have a tendency to bring out the worst in us due to the psychological effects. Regardless of how much you prepare or train, conflict is inevitable. Conflict management, conflict resolution, and leadership will be useful when navigating sticky situations.

Egress

Everything you've learned will lead you to this moment. This last week will be reserved for finishing up a final small-group project, presenting your project, and officially graduating as a STAR Candidate.

Wait, there's more!

There really is just so much content we want to share with you and it was too valuable to leave out! Here you will find bonus videos, exercises, and resources to help you truly embody a STAR Candidate analog astronaut.

The STAR Standard


We hold our candidates to a high standard. We take this course seriously and you should too! It is important to understand the risks, efforts, and responsibilities involved in an analog mission. Therefore, course standards and completion criteria will be reflected in your willingness to work with others, ability to learn new things, coachability, integrity, and dedication. We feel that our standards embody what it means to be a STAR Candidate and really sets us apart from other training programs.

Time Commitment: This course will require approximately 4-6 hours per week, including a weekly 1-hour live group session.

Weekly Work: Each week will include video lessons, a live group session, assignments, and a quiz.

Deadlines: Candidates will have 8 days to complete all tasks for that week (Sunday - Sunday).

Group Projects: There will be two group projects throughout the 9 weeks where teams will be required to work together.

Quizzes and Exams: Candidates will require a passing grade of at least 80% to pass. Quizzes can be retaken twice and the exam can be retaken once upon request and with authorization.

Course Completion: Participants must successfully meet the completion criteria in order to receive the completion certificate.

For complete course details, please see the syllabus.

Sorry we missed you!


Enrollment for Crew 23.1 is now closed. Stay tuned for pre-registration for Crew 23.2.