Geoscientists have been training and preparing astronauts to observe the Earth from space and explore other planetary surfaces with a legacy that reaches back to the early days of the space program . Continuing this legacy and critical function , a core NASA team has been closely coordinating with the Johnson Space Center ( JSC ) Flight Operations Directorate ( FOD ) as well as academic , institute , and other governmental partners to conduct a comprehensive geoscience training program that ranges from initial astronaut candidate training to preparing crew for Artemis missions . Described below are the three program training phases , along with recent program highlights and forward planning .