I’ve rounded up all my favorite NASA resources in one place for all you NASA-lovers out there!
I’ve focused on several topics that I get asked about the most: NASA internships and challenges, spacesuits, and astronauts. Save this page and peruse through all these linked sites at your leisure. Enjoy!
NASA internship Resources
If you’ve been following this site already, you know I highly recommend that students, especially engineering students, get internships. Even if you aren’t in an engineering or science program, you can work for NASA in other fields like finance, communications, and human resources.
NASA Interns
Start at intern.nasa.gov to look for NASA internships. Opportunities range from high school internships to graduate fellowships.
In particular, the NASA Pathways program will significantly increase your chances of getting hired as a NASA employee after you graduate. NASA Pathways is a co-op program. This means you’ll alternate between semesters of school and semesters of interning. I speak from experience here! That’s how I got my fulltime time job with NASA. You can read about my experiences as a NASA co-op here.
US space research Interns
Universities Space Research Association (USRA) works directly with NASA and other space research organizations to provide internship opportunities. USRA organizes NASA internships (but not NASA Pathways) via intern.nasa.gov. Links to other research centers that USRA supports like the Lunar and Planetary Institute are posted on the USRA website.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) also offers its own internship programs. While JPL is affiliated with NASA, JPL employees are employed through the California Institute of Technology. Side note: my very first internship was with JPL.
Partner companies that support NASA missions
You don’t need to work directly for NASA to work on really amazing space missions because NASA works closely with commercial companies. Today, many companies are even pursuing their own exciting space ventures outside of NASA. The private space industry is quickly growing, which means there are a lot of amazing internship opportunities out there!
There are many companies that have support contracts set up with NASA. Support contractors generally work side by side with NASA civil servants. If there’s a specific NASA center you want to work at (or near), google search “support contractors at [insert NASA center]”. For example, a quick search of “support contractors at JSC” took me to this nasa.gov page.
Other companies are on contract to deliver a product or service to NASA. For example, Boeing is a prime contractor for the US portions of the International Space Station. And this Wikipedia page on the Artemis program will give you an idea of various companies building vehicles to aid NASA’s mission to send humans back to the moon.
Space agencies across the world
Not a US citizen? While there are some opportunities to work for NASA, JPL, or other US space research facilities as an international student, the options tend to be limited due to the sensitive nature of aerospace technology. Make sure to research internship opportunities in your home country. Many countries have a government space agency or have a partnership with a specific space agency. European Space Agency (ESA). Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Australian Space Agency (ASA). Etc.
Many of these government agencies also partner with private companies, so make sure to research internship positions in those companies as well.
NASA involvement
Whether you’re a student, educator, or simply someone passionate about solving a NASA problem, there are many ways you can engage with NASA. NASA has numerous educational sites. And NASA has various opportunities where you can actually contribute to NASA’s mission. A good place to start is NASA’s STEM engagement site.
Interested in NASA’s Artemis mission? There’s a STEM engagement site just for Artemis student and educator opportunities.
As a spacesuit engineer, my favorite student challenges are Micro-g NExT (Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams) and NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students). But there are many other student opportunities. Robotics. Launch systems. Find a challenge that sounds exciting and join in!
You can also check with your college to see if they have any active partnerships with NASA. Your school might have a student team building CubeSats or conducting other research that contributes to NASA’s mission. They might even have a class or club you can join that focuses on supporting NASA student challenges.
Are you attending a community college? Consider joining NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS).
Whether you’re a hobbyist or professional, you can participate in numerous NASA crowdsourcing opportunities where you compete to solve important problems for a cash prize. Check out NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation to learn more.
Learn about spacesuits
As a NASA spacesuit engineer, I needed to add a couple of spacesuit links!
SuitUp with NASA is the best place to find the latest publicly available information about spacesuits.
YouTube has a NASA channel and tons of other resources where you learn more about spacewalking. For example, you can see me “suit up” and practice spacewalking in a giant pool at Johnson Space Center in this video.
Enjoy listening to Podcasts? Houston We Have a Podcast often features episodes that discuss spacesuits.
How to become an astronaut
When I talk at outreach events, I inevitability get asked, “what do I need to do to become an astronaut?”. Astronauts have an awesome job, so, of course, it’s a popular question!
My advice? Research astronauts’ career paths. You can find NASA astronaut biographies here. Astronauts come from all different backgrounds, so look at what astronauts did before they became an astronaut. Then, pick a career you can enjoy and excel at before applying to be an astronaut.
I also recommend checking out NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson on Tumblr as she trains for Expedition 50 on the International Space Station. What I love about her Tumblr posts is that you’ll also learn about many other NASA careers as well. Especially all the astronaut instructors who ensure she’s trained properly for her mission.
There are now even more opportunities to go to space! How? By becoming a private astronaut!
If you want to become a private astronaut, follow all the companies and non-profits that are stepping foot into this world (or, I should say, out of this world). This new private astronaut era we’re in today is constantly changing, so make sure to watch out for new players entering the field!
Here are a few organizations that are in the news today to spark some ideas:
- Axiom flew the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station in April 2022 on a SpaceX vehicle and they have plans to create a private space station of their own.
- Blue Origin’s New Sheppard takes tourists on suborbital flights.
- Polaris Program has paid SpaceX for several privately operated space flight missions.
- Project PoSSUM prepares students to become citizen-scientist astronauts.
Want more?
Have other ideas for this list? Want to learn more? Don’t hesitate to contact me or subscribe!