The British space pioneer on what it takes to pass the toughest job interview
The astronaut selection process at the European Space Agency is unforgiving from the start. On day one, candidates assemble in Hamburg for six rounds of tests that run back to back, with 10-minute breaks in between. All are designed to expose weaknesses in people’s “hard skills”: their mental arithmetic, visual perception, working memory, pattern recognition, concentration, and more. Most are abilities that cannot be taught.
“On the first day of testing you are so exposed. There is no hiding place,” says Tim Peake, an army major and former helicopter test-pilot who became Britain’s first ESA astronaut in 2009. “They are analysing your brain and you’ve either got it or you haven’t. I was more nervous about that stage than anything else.”
1. You are in a lunar vehicle and have to get back to base. The trip normally takes 9 hours at 72km/h, but you must get their sooner. How long will the trip take if you travel 8km/h faster? You have one minute and cannot use a calculator.
from Top stories | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2znIKgN
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