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NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

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Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#131

Post by patmorgan23 »

okdood64 wrote: post #10
daeken wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The astronaut in question may choose to disclose that they had the medical emergency and possibly its nature, but it seems wholly reasonable to not single them out (when it affects the whole mission) or disclose their medical status.

Disagree; this is completely taxpayer funded and we deserve to know every detail relevant to mission status. In this scenario knowing what illness and why it's grounds for a return is very relevant. That said, I can see NASA delaying information release to figure out a good strategy for it while still respecting any wishes of the sick astronaut with regards to disclosure.

Does your employer get to know every little detail of your medical conditions when you call in sick? After all they're funding it.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#132

Post by grvbck »

yurishimo wrote: post #123
yesitcan wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a good sales pitch for commercial space flights

While I’m confident we will probably have large scale commercial spacecraft in my lifetime, I suspect I will be long retired by then. I’m 31. We need a decade of accident free autonomous launches before humans will line up in mass to visit space like a Carnival Cruise.

Don't dismiss the yearning for space/new frontiers/adventure that a lot of us have. If you offered tickets to the moon today for the price of a cruise, you would probably have people standing in line from Cape Canaveral to Tallahassee.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#133

Post by CableNinja »

londons_explore wrote: post #125

The ISS is a good example of a fully isolated environment. No new bacteria or viruses arrive there apart from spacecraft arrivals. I've been curious for a while what human health would look like if there was a small group of people isolated for many decades. Would they effectively be disease free after the first few weeks? As well as removing flu and colds, might it also reduce things like heart disease and Alzheimer…

The downside to doing that is that their immune system would be weak in the end. We survive cold and flu because we have had them before, but someone going many years without the yearly viruses would get hit 100x harder, even potentially dying.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#134

Post by roryirvine »

ninkendo wrote: post #129
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pregnancy?

This is what I keep thinking. - Theres a 38 year old woman in the crew - It’s a medical condition that likely wasn’t present when the mission started 4 months ago - It’s serious enough to return the crew, but not serious enough that they must do so immediately I guess we’ll find out in 9 months? (Or not…)

As I understand it, the studies done with mice suggest that microgravity prevents normal embryo development. The ISS should therefore be regarded as a teratogenic environment, and I'd be shocked if women of childbearing age weren't prescribed highly-effective contraceptives (ie. IUD/IUS or implant) before, during, and after spaceflight.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#135

Post by ninkendo »

roryirvine wrote: post #134
ninkendo wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I keep thinking. - Theres a 38 year old woman in the crew - It’s a medical condition that likely wasn’t present when the mission started 4 months ago - It’s serious enough to return the crew, but not serious enough that they must do so immediately I guess we’ll find out in 9 months? (Or not…)

As I understand it, the studies done with mice suggest that microgravity prevents normal embryo development. The ISS should therefore be regarded as a teratogenic environment, and I'd be shocked if women of childbearing age weren't prescribed highly-effective contraceptives (ie. IUD/IUS or implant) before, during, and after spaceflight.

I’m sure they were prescribed, but it’s always possible for them to fail.

I’m curious at what point in the embryo’s development the zero-g becomes an issue, if its immediate vs long term thing. It’s very possible that if it was pregnancy, the embryo is already not viable but she still needs some procedures to ensure her own health (a DnC, etc) that are important but not enough for an emergency evac.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#136

Post by yunnpp »

ninkendo wrote: post #129
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pregnancy?

This is what I keep thinking. - Theres a 38 year old woman in the crew - It’s a medical condition that likely wasn’t present when the mission started 4 months ago - It’s serious enough to return the crew, but not serious enough that they must do so immediately I guess we’ll find out in 9 months? (Or not…)

Are you implying that the pregnancy condition occurred onboard?

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#137

Post by ninkendo »

yunnpp wrote: post #136
ninkendo wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I keep thinking. - Theres a 38 year old woman in the crew - It’s a medical condition that likely wasn’t present when the mission started 4 months ago - It’s serious enough to return the crew, but not serious enough that they must do so immediately I guess we’ll find out in 9 months? (Or not…)

Are you implying that the pregnancy condition occurred onboard?

Yes. Sex isn’t allowed on the ISS due to complications with pregnancy, but it’s not crazy to imagine that maybe they just did it anyway. (Who wouldn’t want to? It’s sex in space and it sounds amazing.)

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#138

Post by NetMageSCW »

therealpygon wrote: post #25
okdood64 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A single soldier having a medical issue generally doesn't cancel a multi-month mission costing some X large sum of money, requiring another Y large sum of money to even finish cancelling it (returning their unit home). Therefore it's not relevant and not needed for the public to know.

Yes, I’m sure aircrew never get so violently sick as to affect millions or billions of dollars in crew and and supporting assets due to an emergency, and armed service members are never transported by emergency transportations for eye-watering costs. Technical inequity that ignores facts is the argument of those without arguments. The specifics of “who” has zero relevance to what is necessary for an ongoing situation…

The amount of money involved should have nothing to do with privacy. You don’t get to violate people’s rights just because it was expensive.

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#139

Post by stefantalpalaru »

heyflyguy wrote: post #51

It's great we can bring them down. What a terrifying experience to have a medical issue on the space station. Kidney stone? Ruptured appendix? intestinal blockage? How could you keep calm so far away!

[dead]

Re: NASA announces unprecedented return of sick ISS astronaut and crew

#140

Post by iancmceachern »

wmf wrote: post #52
heyflyguy wrote: post #51

It's great we can bring them down. What a terrifying experience to have a medical issue on the space station. Kidney stone? Ruptured appendix? intestinal blockage? How could you keep calm so far away!

How could you keep calm so far away By going through a ten-year process that selects for calm people.

Totally, they put a bunch of people in those giant spinning chair things and weed out the ones that puke or freak out. Those are the astronauts, they have the right stuff.
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