“As an astronaut, I believe our current technology may not have solutions for critical situations we are bound to face moving away from low Earth orbit, and this incident illustrates exactly that. NASA needs to address some urgent and sometimes uncomfortable questions. For example, should a doctor always be on the crew? Should a spaceship heading to Mars have high-tech medical capabilities and facilities — not just a ‘med kit’? A kit consisting of only medications, saline solution, a defibrillator and a few basic instruments places a crew at a serious disadvantage if things really go south.”
-Statement for former NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson in a Washington Post editorial published after this week’s return of four crew members who needed to be evacuated from the International Space Station due to a medical emergency. Had the health issue occurred six months into a trip to Mars the circumstances would have been dire without sufficient health resources. This is more evidence that acquiring the necessary hardware for space travel may be the easy part compared to the software, also known as humans.
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