Watch: The life of an astronaut

The life of an astronaut is, for many people, the most exciting career imaginable. But as this charming video from TED Education reminds us, there's more to being a space pioneer than just going to space.

Gerald Carr was an astronaut for NASA during arguably their finest hour -- the Apollo Program. He has spent over 2,000 hours in space and served as a mission commander on Skylab, the U.S.'s first space station.

Carr's casual account of the training, preparation and performance of astronauts during his career is a fascinating glimpse into perhaps the most elite group of people on Earth: spacefarers.