Hi Nicholas,

Watching the astronauts during the Apollo 17 moon landing was one of the things that got me interested in space exploration and becoming a scientist.

When I was in high school, I won a trip to the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, AL by answering trivia questions about space exploration for a contest held by a local dairy. At Space Camp, we learned all about what it is like to train for a Space Shuttle mission, just like the real astronauts do. We did two simulated Space Shuttle missions. I was the commander for one of our simulated missions and I got to sit up in the simulator cockpit and fly the shuttle. For our second simulated mission, I was a member of the ground control crew.

I think it is great that you would like to be an astronaut when you grow up. Unfortunately, you can't go to college and choose "astronaut training" as your major. Currently, there are different paths to becoming an astronaut. Some astronauts are pilots with military training, while others are scientists with degrees in various fields. There is no reason why you couldn't be a scientist who studies bugs (an entomologist) and also be an astronaut. You can read about scientists who have done experiments with insects on board the International Space Station here:

http://science.nasa.gov/h...4/03feb_fruitfly.htm

Kris