Would you pass the test?

     I realized I needed to catch up on my blogging, and I know you are all dying to read my blogs on space :) !
     So the question of the day is, "do you know even know what astronauts do?" So take a guess. If you think it's only about placing flags on the moon, you're wrong. Most astronauts find space missions to be "boring". Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 astronaut,. once stated, "funny thing happened on the way to the moon: not much," following with the statement, "should have brought some crossword puzzles." So much for astronauts having this amazingly exciting job.
     First of all, they assemble orbiting science labs, carry out zero-gravity experiments, launch communications and Defense Department satellites, and even install "new toilets!" To me, all of this sounds super exciting (except the toilet part...) but I guess there isn't much to do in space. Since boredom can be the hardest part for many astronauts up in space, I finally understand another part to this extensive psych exam they have to go through. You have to be able to handle stressful and scary moments, but also long periods of isolation and complete boredom. Honestly, I don't know which one would be more hard to handle.
     Truth is, Mary Roach came out to find that only 1%  of an astronaut's career is actually spent in space, and only 1% of that is done in a pressure suit. So what do they do during the other 99%? Well, they spend their days in meetings and on committees, speaking at schools and Rotary clubs, evaluating software and hardware, working at Mission Control, and the rest of it is spent "flying a desk". However, they are sent through extensive damage-control training sessions just encase something was to go wrong. And even worse, throughout everything, they are still put to the test day in and day out to make sure they're fit for the job. If NASA is calling for an interview, they might call you at 4:00 A.M., maybe they'll tell you to come in the next day to redo a test that they happened to "misplace". Every day you are being studied and examined. One wrong move, and you could lose all your hopes and dreams of going to space. Would you pass the test?