Do kids still grow up wanting to be astronauts or is that all over now?

Cos I know I did, and lots of other kids at my school did too until we found out it wasn't just hanging around with goofy martians and androids and stuff. But space exploration, it's not something I really hear about a whole lot any more, or at least it seems less on the public consciousness/imagination. I can't help thinking that hearing a kid express enthusiasm for being a spaceman would feel quaint in 2012.

But maybe parents will be able to answer this one? Any budding Neil Armstrongs, Han Solos or Captain Kirks (or more modern-day analogues) out there?

Astronauts, I don't know. Not too many people can go up in space. But with the Mars Rovers, maybe some kids want to be astrophysicists or engineers - less glamorous but...I can't imagine what kids think of the moon landing these days...I think they don't understand it.

Kinds want to be astronauts in movies. Not irl.

did the british even go to space

Human astronauts have been replaced by better heroic archetypes, such as superheroes and robots.

For example,the Transformers franchise, while reactionary, serve an important and positive function in training young minds to embrace non-human role models.

Working in the control room looked really cool in those NASA videos, but you probably have to be a genius.

Kinds want to be astronauts in movies. Not irl.

― Mark G, Monday, 29 October 2012 16:51 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh definitely - once I realised how IRL dull the moon actually was and how if I wanted to go to space I'd have to be amazing at maths and physics, I was pretty put off.

The Simpsons kinda put paid to what "being an astronaut" really meant:

Tom Brokaw: It's a lovely day for a launch, here, live at Cape Canaveral, at the lower end of the Florida Peninsula, and the purpose of today's mission is truly, really electrifying.

Man 2: That's correct, Tom. The lion's share of this flight will be devoted to the study of the effects of weightlessness on tiny screws.

Tom: Unbelievable, and just imagine the logistics of weightlessness. And of course, this could have literally millions of applications here on Earth -- everything from watchmaking to watch repair.

Homer: Boring.[tries to switch channels, but the batteries fall from the remote control]No! The batteries!

Tom: Now let's look at the crew a little.

Man 2: They're a colorful bunch. They've been dubbed "the Three Musketeers". Heh heh heh --

Tom: And we laugh legitimately. There's a mathematician, a different _kind_ of mathematician, and a statistician.

probably enough kids still want to be richard garriot or richard branson so the astronaut thing simply becomes part of the lifestyle.

I grew up wanting to go to CalTech and design robotic interplanetary probes, thanks to Carl Sagan, but didn't love math enough when the time came.

A friend in the religious studies department has a son that is currently obsessed with being an astronaut when he grows up. He posted a picture of him in a little NASA jumpsuit not too long ago. They were taking a trip to the Jet Propulsion Lab. It's all very awesome.

why be an astronaut when you can just affix misattributed quotes to Bill Nye Tyson photos and post them to the "I fucking love science" Facebook group page?

^^^ Bob Marley OTM

if dinosaurs are anything to go by kids will be obsessed with astronauts for approx 500 million years

being an aviatrix kind of lost its heroic appeal when Ryanair came on the scene. (but on the other hand how cool would it be to go to moonbase for lunar soccer match for $20 round trip?)

The full-on level of obsession with all things ~SPACE~ I had aged 7 does seem a bit quaint now, but we went to the UK's National Space Museum in Leicester last year and there were a fair few kids running round pushing all the buttons and queuing for the pretend-to-be-an-astronaut exhibits.

Do kids still grow up wanting to be spacecadets?

if dinosaurs are anything to go by kids will be obsessed with astronauts for approx 500 million years

only if you get books about astronauts featuring one astronaut goring another to death on the cover.