Suzanna Randall may be on the verge of becoming the first German astronaut to fly into space. At the "Learning from Legends" event series at TUM Campus Heilbronn, she talked about the path that made her a hopeful in space travel. "My second dream job was to be a pirate," she recalled with a laugh. "I just wanted to travel and see the world."
Now, as an astrophysicist and budding astronaut, Randall faces a different challenge: space. Her path to becoming an astronaut was not easy until she was finally selected by the "Die Astronautin" initiative.
A myth that Randall dispels: "You don't have to be super fit to be an astronaut. Versatility and health are more important." Her training included isolation training in a cave, underwater training in uncomfortable spacesuits and drawing blood herself. "What I enjoyed most were the parabolic flights where we simulated weightlessness," she reveals.
Randall is physically and mentally ready, but still lacks financial support. "If we had the money tomorrow - we're talking about around 50 million euros - we could fly in about nine to twelve months," she says. As part of the "Die Astronautin" initiative and not an ESA employee, the funding is largely in her hands.
In an open question and answer session, she also reveals her favorite planet: Neptune. "That's why my cat is called Triton, after the planet's largest moon." She emphasizes how important it is to be a role model for young women, just as NASA astronaut Sally Ride was for her in 1983.