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Making the grade as one of NASA’s ‘Highly Qualified Astronaut Candidates’ isn’t a prerequisite for leadership in Blue Abyss, but Dr Mindy Howard reckons the experience might come in handy. 

Our Astronaut Training Programme Director always dreamed of becoming an astronaut but is equally passionate about helping others achieve their dream of going to space.

In her orbit 

Mindy has published various space-related research papers and created a business called, 'Inner Space Training' - a training programme to psychologically prepare commercial astronauts for space flight.  

"I help people achieve their peak performance; by getting them to stay focused on their mission. After the space flight, their experience can then be used to inspire and improve the lives of others here on Earth," explains Mindy.  

Many of these peak performance techniques can also be used here in Blue Abyss with respect to astronaut training."  

Mindy is currently a flight member with the Association of Spaceflight Professionals (formerly called, Astronauts for Hire), a non-profit organisation which recruits and trains scientists and engineers for spaceflight. As a flight member, she has completed an extensive suborbital training programme. She now brings her training experience to Blue Abyss, to help create a world-class space preparation training programme for its various customer groups.  

Experiencing high G-forces is intense and gave me a good insight into the difficulties astronauts face," she says. “I will use this insight into constructing high quality space preparation programmes to enable anyone who wishes to go into space to accomplish their mission objectives. " 

Overview effect 

"When many astronauts have gone into space, they experience what's called 'the overview effect'. The overview effect is a cognitive shift in the astronauts' awareness during spaceflight, often experienced while viewing Earth from space."  

"When astronauts come home, they frequently become ambassadors of the environment or want to help to build a better world. That's the sort of inspiration I would love to see here amongst our team at Blue Abyss. Blue Abyss will help people create the conditions to achieve the overview effect, as we reach out to the local communities and for our customers intending to experience space."

Mindy has recently given a Ted Talk about astronaut training and the overview effect. Please watch and share Mindy's video here 

Article and image kindly provided by Dr Mindy Howard, Astronaut Training Programme Director, Blue Abyss.