Perspective Chapter: Astronauts as STEM Role Models and Science Ambassadors

1. Introduction

Astronauts are the highest profile Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassadors science outreach could ask for, motivating children and students of all ages to pursue science careers to the benefit of terrestrial innovation and health. The dedication to advanced degrees and scientific research personified by many astronauts offers a trusted STEM role model to society. This is of particular importance in a time of limited science role models and diminishing trust in the scientific community. Astronauts’ broad and interdisciplinary training encourages collaboration between disparate scientific disciplines and inspires innovation at these intersections. This chapter explores how the astronaut role as science ambassador can be optimised for the benefit of terrestrial sciences.

Astronauts are recognised internationally as high profile STEM role models. At a time of intensifying demand for STEM graduates, the astronaut role may be an under leveraged tool for increasing the interest in STEM careers to a broader population cohort. In the US alone, there is a projected increase in STEM opportunities of 3 million by 2026 but an anticipated deficit of 1.5 million STEM graduates required to fill these positions. This is a pattern replicated elsewhere [1, 2]. U.S. educational initiatives have not generated significant improvements in mathematics or science literacy in the same way that European countries such as Germany have improved their outcomes in these educational metrics since 2000 [3].

An astronaut exemplifies scientific excellence in a way that can motivate children and young people to aspire to STEM careers. However, this perceived excellence of attainment may enforce the “not for me” attitude towards science that can occur in those who do not have a high level of scientific literacy at home. It is crucial that STEM engagement strategies focus on accessibility to a wide cohort of society in order to maximise impact. Inspiring those children and students who do not have other trusted science role models is of particular value in widening the appeal of STEM beyond traditionally enthusiastic cohorts. Socio-economic barriers have been identified as a difficulty in expanding the STEM workforce [3]. For women, STEM participation has been shown to particularly decrease between the ages of 11–15, with gender stereotypes, lack of role models and cultural pressures all showing an impact in disengagement [4, 5]. Engaging students in space related educational activities has been demonstrated to build their confidence in scientific knowledge through engagement with appropriate professional mentors [3].

The engagement of educators is no less important, and both NASA and ESA have programmes targeting educators at different levels. However, many educators as well as parents may see advanced STEM and space research as a luxury extra rather than a necessity. Numerous educators do not realise how many terrestrial services and technologies have developed from or are currently dependent on the space programme [6].

2. Managing a time limited resource

Astronauts are an extremely time limited resource as there are a tiny number of active career astronauts globally at any one time. Although small numbers of astronauts have travelled to space, approximately 1425 individuals up to 2023, they can have an outsized educational impact due to their public profile [7]. To date, over 43 million students worldwide have participated in educational activities related to the International Space Station (ISS) [8]. Public and student access has been facilitated through dedicated astronaut facilitated projects such as Tomatosphere, MAI-75, Sally Ride Earth Knowledge-based Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM), and YouTube Space Lab [8].

Their time is further restricted by their onerous training schedules as well as the competing demands of mission training, physical training, public outreach, educational outreach and personal and family time. Therefore, all STEM and outreach initiatives utilising astronauts as a resource should ensure that maximum usage of the available time is prioritised. There have been many different strategies successfully used previously to generate maximum exposure or return from an initiative involving astronauts. Mission X, an international, multi-year educational project utilises minimal individual astronaut time to launch and generate interest in the project, while delivering most of the educational content without much required input or time commitment from the astronaut corps.

In 2011, the Mission X: Train like an Astronaut challenge was developed to promote healthy eating and physical activity to children by teaching students about the requirements of the astronaut lifestyle and encouraging them to participate in activities [9].

The challenge is a collaboration between ESA, the UK Space Agency and the European Space Education and Resource Office, housing educational activities for students where they can complete physical challenges, learn about nutrition through practical exercises and focus on their teamwork skills. Schools formed challenge teams and participated in an international fitness challenge. Participants could see the progress of teams in other countries adding an international dimension to the competition and a points system for challenges completed was utilised to promote constructive competition. A total of 4164 students participated in the initial competition challenge and the activities on the website were made available in seven languages [9].

The fitness challenge moved from strength to strength with the 2015 iteration hosting almost 40,000 children on 800 teams, from 28 countries affiliated with 12 space agencies [9].

Mission X is supported by multiple space agencies including the NASA, ESA and JAXA astronaut corps. In the 2015 iteration, they participated in the opening, closing and special ISS events. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti was the astronaut ambassador for the 2015 programme. UK astronaut Tim Peake and US astronaut Kate Rubins have been the mission X ambassadors in 2016 and 2017 [9]. In addition to participation in the opening and closing events, astronauts provided short, pre-recorded videos accessible to students, giving the astronaut’s perspective on health and fitness in space. Samantha Cristoferetti was able to provide video content to students from the ISS during her space mission.

NASA and ESA offer targeted training to teachers on space science topics through online resources and focused updates courses that include classroom activities. There is a self-selection bias however in that generally only teachers who are already interested in space will seek out these opportunities and subsequently integrate them into classroom teaching. ESA’s European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) is a targeted support for early years, primary and secondary school teaching about space. It provides resources, teaching and initiatives for teachers across the continent to use space in the classroom. Each ESA member state has its own local office who will support in-country STEM promotions and space initiatives, linking students with role models in the space industry, including where possible, astronauts.

There have already been many successful efforts to incorporate astronauts into national educational curricula internationally (Netherlands, 2011; UK, 2015) to teach fundamental science skills and this important work can be further built on [10]. Incorporating space science into a national curriculum often coincides with the selection of a national astronaut, as in the case of the UK’s Tim Peake. During his 2015–2016 Principia mission there was a renewed focus in UK education on space and STEM subjects [11]. During this mission, a mixed methods study examined the attitudes of 555 primary and 796 secondary school students in relation to STEM and human spaceflight. Students were found to have more positive views about space science than STEM subjects generally, with primary school students having more positive views of STEM than secondary school students. Boys generally were found to be more positive about spaceflight than girls, as well as more likely to see themselves working in the space industry in the future [11]. Over half of students felt they enjoyed learning about space generally, and felt it was important to send humans into space. Only a quarter felt they would like to have a job in the space industry with potential barriers highlighted including a need to be clever, with space science being seen as harder than maths, the next highest ranking subject [11]. The study highlighted the need for more information for students on the different types of roles available in the space sector as well as the requirement for a wide variety of role models in STEM careers [11].

Many STEM initiatives aimed at secondary schools have wholly or partially attributed their success to the patronage and support of astronauts. From 2015 to 2018, Italy ran the STEM programme, “Space for Your Future. The ISS: Innovatio, Scientia, Sapientia” in partnership with the Italian Space Agency [12]. This was a competition aimed at secondary school students and was a successful STEM initiative involving many schools and spearheaded by astronaut Lt. Col. Walter Villadei under the School to Space research programme. The competitions thematic areas covered science, engineering and health including a “Train like an astronaut” strand which sought proposals for the development of physical exercise, tools and sensors for astronauts. The response surpassed expectations with 110 proposals submitted to the programme by 54 Italian secondary schools.

3. Astronaut public engagement

Public engagement has formed a significant part of the demands on astronaut scheduling since the inception of the role. Astronauts have engaged with this aspect of their work with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The required skills and background for astronauts has evolved over time, in part to reflect the increased requirement to engage with the public, in both science communication and in relation to STEM education [7]. This has encouraged the recruitment of individuals who are comfortable fielding media queries and confidence in public speaking [7]. With an increased level of exposure through the 24 hours news cycle and social media omnipresence, it is more crucial than ever for astronauts to engage with the public effectively.

We live in an age of online disinformation where scientific facts are regularly contested without factual basis. Easy dissemination of unscientific material via social media networks and unscrupulous individuals leads to a proliferation of online disinformation. It has been shown that increasing the science literacy of a country’s population makes them less susceptible to online disinformation. Astronauts as a trusted scientific role model can aid the proliferation of good quality scientifically accurate information, while educating the public in the scientific method and the principles of hypothesis, testing and uncertainty.

Many retired members of NASA’s astronaut core have continued to dedicate a significant amount of effort to promoting space, science and discovery to the public, e.g., Col. Chris Hadfield, Dr. Mae Jemison, Daniel Tani. This has taken the form of school visits, public lectures and science events. Dr. Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, has continued extensive outreach campaigns focused on bringing space education to those who might not otherwise be able to access it [13]. Dr. Jemison credits seeing female NASA astronaut Dr. Sally Ride travel to space as inspiring her to apply to the astronaut corps [13]. It has been repeatedly shown that the visibility of female astronauts encourages young women to see a STEM career as more appealing [14, 15, 16, 17].

At the advent of the space programme, U.S. astronauts were all male and marketed as “all American boys” or paragons of idealised masculinity, making them role models for American men specifically [18]. The astronaut profile was designed to role model heroism, conformity and stability [7]. In the first 20 years of spaceflight, only 2 women flew to space, while at the same time more than 182 men travelled to space [7]. In the US, Congress passed the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972 to allow women access to careers that previously were not available to them. However, NASA was hiring women prior to the federal law change [19].

Women make up 50% of the U.S. population but after they were accepted into the astronaut core, represented <25% of selected astronauts. Maintaining excellence in the competitive domain of spaceflight, requires getting the best ideas and perspectives, regardless of the background of the individuals involved. Diversity of thought and experience is necessary to promote effective scientific progress. NASA recognised this need and adopted various approaches to promote its career opportunities to women and minorities. As part of one awareness campaign, Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols “Uhura” worked with NASA to produce a promotional video to inspire women and ethnic minorities to join NASA and to apply to the astronaut corps [7, 20]. In 2013, there were equal numbers of men and women accepted by NASA for the first time. The Canadian Space Agency has to date selected 3 women out of 14 astronauts [7]. International astronauts who have been sent to NASA have increased the diversity representation in terms of ethnicity but not gender as the majority of international astronauts that have been sent to date have been men [7].

More broadly, female participation in space missions internationally has always lagged significantly behind male participation. A study examining the number of women scientists in 10 ESA solar system missions over a 38 year period showed the percentage of women as co-investigators is always less than 16%. This is lower than the 24% of women in the International Astronomical Union during this time from ESA member states giving an estimate of the female members active in the field [21]. Women constituted 22% of the space industry workforce overall in 2021 which shows an ongoing deficit in attracting women into this sector [22]. Three Western European women have been to space to date, Helen Sharman, Dr. Claudie André-Deshays and Samantha Cristoforetti, representing 6% of astronauts of European nationality [7].

Following many years of increased efforts to promote female and ethnic minority participation in traditionally underrepresented STEM fields, there has recently been some global backsliding on these initiatives. It is therefore crucial that the success of the highest profile members of these areas are celebrated and shown to the generations coming behind to encourage a broad pipeline of STEM graduates with diverse perspectives. With the removal of celebratory pages of women at NASA, as well as sustained political attacks on diversity and inclusion measures worldwide, the real accomplishments of female astronauts must be promoted and celebrated to ensure that there remains a pipeline of motivated students to pursue STEM careers. This is in keeping with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, especially Goals 4 and 5 which aim to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” [23]. Social identity informed research has shown that perceptions of who is part of the in group or out group in STEM fields can be changed through educational programmes and intervention [24].

For emerging space nations, having a country’s first astronaut is usually a tremendous source of pride and the individual becomes a national role model. In countries where there have been small numbers of astronauts, their selection, training and flights to ISS are generally featured on national news and attract significant political and public commentary. During British astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia mission to the ISS, in addition to the multitude of ESA science experiments he took part in, also focused on educational outreach, engaging 1.6 million European children in over 30 science projects through their schools [25].

Astronauts are considered to embody key national values and to be a formal representative of their nation at high profile international events. The iconography of the astronaut was utilised as the “embodiment of national virtues” according to Launius from the Apollo era onwards [26]. A study looking at the universal values of astronauts found a general similarity in the endorsed values by individual astronauts. However, the study authors found that Canadian astronauts specifically endorsed patriotism as one of their top three values, as well as the value of universalism more than astronauts from other nations. They also appeared to value conformity less than astronaut peers from other nations [27]. This was felt to reflect Canadian cultural values and pride in their small group of astronauts [27].

The US military has utilised their military NASA astronauts who have an additional designation as space force guardians in their STEM outreach through motivational talks and the sharing of expertise, even from the ISS itself. In 2024, Col. Nick Hague spoke to STEM students from the Denver School of Science and Technology directly from ISS as part of the STEMtoSpace educational outreach programme [28].

At a time when sanctions have been applied by western states to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, it often appears that the space domain appears exempt as bilateral agreements are still in place with Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency. Russian cosmonauts are still living and working aboard the ISS with their NASA, ESA, CSA and JAXA colleagues and although their role is often downplayed in press releases, it is one of very few areas of public life where this cooperation with Russia still occurs at the international level.

4. Considering commercial astronauts

This expansion of types of astronaut has continued with the proliferation of astronaut roles into the commercial sphere. The exacting requirements of the term astronaut have led to some contested discussion of whose role meets the requirements of the term. This may be seen in the context of the heroism traditionally associated with the astronaut role and whether an individual has met the qualifying criteria for this standard. The space explorer as hero has traditionally been measured in terms of their achievement and contribution [29]. Astronauts are exemplars of phronesis, the Greek term meaning practical wisdom, or intelligence gleaned from and associated with practical action [29]. Whether a category of astronaut meets this threshold of phronesis needs to take account of the threshold of the core successes of heroes which include (1) attempting to scale new heights of value (2) overcoming a difficult challenge (3) risking one’s life in the attempt and (4) expressing the virtue of phronesis [29]. With the advent of private space missions and space tourism, the demographics of spaceflight have dramatically changed [7]. This has an effect on the STEM role model types available to students, however there has recently been a notable backlash in some instances that may discourage participation in commercial spaceflight.

Can commercial astronauts fulfil the same STEM role model purpose as career agency astronauts? There are currently a variety of suborbital flight operators (Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic) facilitating commercial, research and mixed flights. Recently, there was significant media backlash to an all female flight that included celebrity Katy Perry, but also included aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and Nobel prize nominee Amanda Nguyen. The mission was extensively criticised in the press for the resources used to send the flyers into space and the marketing of the flight as a feminist event [30]. Previously mixed gender commercial suborbital flights have not attracted the same public opprobrium. Many of the suborbital flights currently being flown are exclusively commercial, with participants paying for a unique travel experience, not without its own inherent risks. However, there have been several commercial suborbital flights which have also contributed to the scientific community by conducting research midflight. In 2025, the Fram-2 mission undertook 22 life-science focused experiments, including conducting the first X-ray in space [31, 32]. The 100th woman in space, Emily Calandrelli, an MIT engineer turned commercial astronaut and science communicator has engaged audiences with STEM through a New York Times’ bestselling book and popular children’s science shows on Netflix and Youtube.

Commercial flights may inspire a positive response from the public, such as in the case of Wally Funk who completed a suborbital flight in 2021, becoming the oldest woman to have flown to space. Funk was part of a small group of women known as the Mercury 13 who underwent some of the same testing that the male Mercury astronauts went through. It was undertaken through a private contractor to NASA from 1960 to 1961 and was designed to test the ability of women to become astronauts. Despite many of the women scoring highly, the testing was cancelled and NASA did not pursue this initiative. Funk’s story of the “longest wait” to get to space resonated with a large community and her story has inspired a film, memoir, extensive media coverage and engaged diverse audiences [33]. Funk’s longevity in pursuing her dream, as well as her emphasis on lifelong learning and continued pursuit of aviation despite the many hurdles put before her inspired many.

Canadian commercial astronaut and medical doctor Dr. Shawna Pandya, who is due to fly with Virgin Galactic and the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) has spent many years conducting STEM outreach online and via in-person events. Dr. Pandya explicitly attributes the career visibility of Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canadian Space Agency astronaut, as the inspiration for her own career trajectory. As a new generation of digital native astronauts engage online audiences with science positive role models, we can expect to see further interest in and engagement with STEM education from these cohorts.

5. Novel approaches to space and STEM education

Didactic delivery of scientific education has been the model relied upon to date in most educational contexts. There have been moves within the space community to diversify methods of science communication. ESA champion in education, Dr. Niamh Shaw, has recently finished a pilot “Town Scientist” project in the Republic of Ireland that aimed to foster STEM engagement amongst adults in marginalised communities through informal learning sessions. The informal STEM learning programme was delivered over a 10 weeks initial period aimed at adult participants. Town Scientist was designed in response to findings from the science capital model, which suggests that many adults from marginalised backgrounds lack STEM engagement opportunities, often due to systemic barriers such as educational disadvantage, social perception, and limited exposure to science [34].

Dr. Shaw partnered with trusted local institutions including the Louth County library to reduce barriers to participation in the programme. The programme’s evaluation measured changes in confidence, knowledge retention, and willingness to engage in STEM discussions. At the project’s outset, only 38% of participants felt confident discussing science. Many expressed feeling disconnected from STEM. By the final evaluation, 75% felt “more confident” or “very confident” engaging in STEM conversations, and 85% said they would attend future science-related events. This aligns with research highlighting the importance of informal, relatable STEM experiences in building self efficacy [35, 36]. Fostering STEM engagement has further been shown to be a robust deterrent to the absorption of disinformation and particularly of online disruptive material [37, 38].

There is currently under-utilisation of social media educational outreach by astronauts worldwide. Although social media channels can become echo chambers of misinformation and disinformation, there is significant scope to promote good quality evidence-based data via this medium, particularly to younger people. Social media offers astronauts the power to connect directly with the public, humanising space exploration and STEM subjects in an approachable manner. This increased accessibility can be effective in promoting identification with STEM role models for young people and even challenging stereotypes of STEM professionals [39].

Analysis of the Facebook posts of astronauts found that female astronauts promoted women’s participation in STEM fields more frequently than male astronauts, posting on this topic once for every 10 public messages, whereas male astronauts would tackle this issue approximately one third less. However, both male and female astronauts were found to post publicly about inclusive scientific endeavours and reducing inequalities in science regularly [40].

Dr. Don Pettit, a currently active NASA astronaut, is one of the more effective space science communicators online. He has completed four spaceflights and returned to earth most recently April 19th 2025 having celebrated his 70th birthday in space. Dr. Pettit enjoys conducting his own experiments during spaceflight, that he dubs “Science of Opportunity” in addition to the mandated scientific workload he undertakes as part of his astronaut duties. These are communicated to the general public in a variety of ways, including a popular video series “Science off the Sphere” he has created showing various microgravity phenomena in an approachable manner, currently available on Youtube [41].

In an era of climate breakdown, it is essential that the scientific and social benefits of a flight outweigh any pollution emitted by the launch. One of the criticisms levelled at suborbital non research flights, carrying space tourists, is related to the significant environmental impact of the activities of this small group of tourists [42]. Observing unnecessarily high carbon activity has been shown to be demotivating in terms of climate activism to wider society as it reduces a sense of collective effort amongst the populace [42]. Many astronauts have become climate advocates, citing the overview effect experience they had during their spaceflights, and seeing part of their role as communicating the fragility of life on earth.

6. Conclusion

Astronauts as trusted role models can create a trusted scientist role model bond that increases the accessibility and inherent trustworthiness of scientific content. Following the pandemic, trust in the scientific community has been subject to disinformation at scale, both online and from political quarters. This has led to a reduction of trust in science from many quarters of society. One method of increasing the trust in science is via trusted voices such as teachers, doctors and astronauts. Astronauts have the ability to influence policy makers at national and international level to support scientific initiatives. Politicians can see a national astronaut as a valuable astronaut and role model, leading potentially to increased support for scientific endeavour.

Inventive and targeted strategies to engage the public and encourage students into STEM are needed to continue to encourage young people into STEM careers. Astronauts’ time is valuable and extremely limited, therefore focused clips or excerpts of astronauts advocating for particular initiatives can be used to maximise their efficacy as has been successfully done with previous programmes including Mission X.

The Science off the Sphere Youtube series shows how physics phenomena in microgravity can be humanised and made interesting to a broad audience. If such initiatives can be broadly incorporated into science curricula, this can make space science “real” to children through effective astronaut storytelling and begin the appeal of STEM careers early on.

With the rollbacks in many countries of initiatives promoting female and diverse participation in STEM higher education and traditionally male dominated fields, there is a risk of discouraging women and minorities from programmes and careers where they may not feel naturally welcome. Given the dearth of STEM workers internationally, countries who do not encourage broad types of individuals to pursue STEM careers will have fewer candidates to choose from in advanced scientific fields to the detriment of their research and economic outputs.

In the era of climate breakdown, it is crucial that all spaceflight participants and agencies are maximising the research and technology benefits of space for terrestrial usage or a significant public backlash will see spaceflight opportunities diminished.