NASA astronaut reveals how much she makes in short three word statement

Being an astronaut is a dream job among children – but does NASA actually pay much more than earthbound public sector jobs? The reality is surprising, given the muscle wastage that’s part of the job

Becoming an astronaut is the dream job of a tenth of British children, and the majority of kids in China.

It’s not for the paycheque – but if you’ve ever wondered how much it pays, one retired NASA astronaut revealed the surprising truth in three words.

“Not a lot”, Nicole Stott replied, when asked by the LAD Bible during a Q&A. It is, after all, a public sector job.

“Government civil service. You don’t become an astronaut to get paid a lot of money.”

According to NASA, the annual salary for astronauts is $152,258 (£112,347) per year, but this can vary depending on education and experience level.

Nicole Stott spent more than 100 days in space before retiring. She has written a book about her experience and what it taught her about our home planet and our mission to protect it.

Given the risks of this extreme profession – and the months spent far from their loved ones, living off dehydrated rations and losing muscle mass – you’d think they’d be compensated generously.

Mrs Stott spent three months at the International Space Station in 2009, and was the 10th woman to perform a spacewalk.

It emerged this year that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – who were stuck on the ISS for nine months – would only receive a tiny payout for the inconvenience.

NASA astronauts get paid peanuts for overtime – £2.95 a day in the case of another former astronaut Cady Coleman, she told the Washingtonian.

That meant she only got paid £469 for her 159-day mission.

Mrs Stott was also asked about whether it’s possible to have sex in space, to which she responded:

‘Probably. I don’t think there’s anything that would physically prevent you from having sex in space.

‘I don’t know that anybody has while they were there, I did not. And but just like, you know, I think about floating and swimming in a pool, you can have sex there.

‘And if somebody wants to have sex in space, I think they’ll figure out how to have sex in space.’

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