57
votes
Accepted
Are all modern astronauts at least passable phlebotomists?
By my count, the OP asks three questions. I'll anecdotally answer two of them ("Is it something that most or all astronauts are capable of doing, or are there just a few "designated drivers&...
- 4,175
56
votes
Accepted
Why do they have a Snellen eye chart on the ISS?
Eyes do strange things in microgravity (when you consider they're deformable bags of fluid, this isn't too surprising). This report outlines the changes that can be identified after just a short ...
- 7,736
45
votes
What are the most serious injuries that astronauts have suffered while in orbit?
The Mars Society has a good indication of what the most serious medical issues have been in space flight. These include:
A number of cases where the gloves leaked in an EVA. (STS-37, Mir Space ...
- 121k
38
votes
Why do they have a Snellen eye chart on the ISS?
NASA has been studying the effects of microgravity on astronauts' eyes for at least a few years. This article from Space.com from 2012 talks about some of the findings from that time.
In a new ...
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38
votes
How tall do you have to be to be an astronaut?
Straight from the NASA website, there are actually just a few requirements you need to meet to become an astronaut:
A Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, or ...
- 5,626
36
votes
Accepted
What are the "unpleasant effects" of having a cold in microgravity?
This description of the Apollo 7 mission from NASA contains a more detailed description:
Mucus accumulates, fills the nasal passages and does not drain from the head. The only relief is to blow ...
- 463
36
votes
Would a broken arm/ leg be more painful in zero gravity?
Yes, your fracture would still hurt in microgravity. Likely worse.
Pain from a fracture comes from inflammation and soft tissue damage around the fracture, as well as mechanical loading of the broken ...
- 17.7k
35
votes
Accepted
Do Astronauts have their appendix removed?
No, but it is being considered, in particular for long duration deep space missions like going to the Moon. ISS astronauts could return to Earth in a short enough period of time that they could ...
- 121k
33
votes
Accepted
Were any of the Apollo astronauts smokers and did that cause any problems?
In the early years of the Space program, smoking everywhere was considered normal. But NASA was ahead of its time. After members of the "Original Seven" were seen smoking on TV, NASA was ...
- 3,235
31
votes
How do EVA suits manage water excretion?
The shuttle (and ISS) EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) has a condensing heat exchanger as part of its ventilation loop. The condensate is stored, used for cooling, and the excess is drained after ...
- 178k
31
votes
Accepted
Besides health benefits, what are the advantages of including inertial gravity sections on spaceships?
The presence of gravity simplifies a number of common processes. Some examples:
Separating liquids from gasses, eg. getting the water out of the air after you take a shower, or removing the hydrogen ...
- 14.6k
28
votes
Does lower gravity on Mars make it unsafe and unhealthy for humans?
This is actually a good question, and one that we really don't have a good answer to. Intuitively it must be better than zero gravity, but the question is, will it be good enough. There are a host of ...
- 121k
27
votes
Accepted
Do Astronauts lose finger nails in space?
They tended to suffer painful fingernails in the Apollo days, in the Lunar Surface Journal Schmitt and Cernan gave a good description of this on several pages. There were also references made in the ...
- 5,178
25
votes
Accepted
What are the most serious injuries that astronauts have suffered while in orbit?
The crew of Apollo 7 were all ill. The commander, Wally Schirra, developed a cold and the other two crew members suffered prolonged motion sickness.
Due to the illnesses, the crew failed to perform ...
- 6,732
23
votes
Accepted
Why might an astronaut wear their wristwatch very loosely aboard the ISS?
Nice observation, he is just doing it to show off! Check these out:
https://twitter.com/cmdr_hadfield/status/326727757109268481?lang=en
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23
votes
Besides health benefits, what are the advantages of including inertial gravity sections on spaceships?
It would help you to learn which plants can grow properly in a greenhouse on the moon or Mars. When a seed germinates, the root starts growing downward with gravity, and the shoot grows upward to the ...
- 47.7k
23
votes
Were any of the Apollo astronauts smokers and did that cause any problems?
Buzz Aldrin with (presumably unlit) pipe. Gemini 12 photo S66-62984
- 17.7k
20
votes
Would a broken arm/ leg be more painful in zero gravity?
More of a long comment than an answer - we don't know.
The key to minimizing pain from a broken limb would be making the limb immobile. For a leg that would require the use of a splint as a primary ...
- 13k
19
votes
What are the most serious injuries that astronauts have suffered while in orbit?
While I'm not sure it would qualify as a physical, bleeding injury, there was a near-death from drowning in space. Luca Parmitano, was an Italian NASA astronaut who nearly drowned during an EVA in ...
- 291
19
votes
How tall do you have to be to be an astronaut?
As other answers have already explained, the basic height requirement is 4 feet, 10.5 inches to 6 feet, 4 inches.
However, just meeting that (and the other basic specifications) isn't going to get ...
- 411
18
votes
Accepted
Do space suits measure "methane" levels or other biological gases?
The US's only "modern, real" space suit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), was designed in the 1970s. It has a very limited sensor suite and no automation at all.
The only sensors used in the ...
- 178k
18
votes
Accepted
What will happen to human body when affected by two opposing G forces?
If you imagine that in your example the rocket's engine is not initially firing. The rocket and its occupants are falling freely towards the planet below. The occupants will feel weightless, because ...
- 8,001
18
votes
How are the "lucky JPL peanuts" shared post-pandemic?
People received individual packages of peanuts and could sneak one under their mask.
This page shows people holding individual packages of peanuts.
And this video explains the procedure briefly.
- 1,584
16
votes
What are the most serious injuries that astronauts have suffered while in orbit?
Some crewmembers have been incapacitated by Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS) as they adapt to the free fall environment. The most publicized case of this was "Payload Specialist" Jake Garn who was so ...
- 178k
16
votes
Accepted
How can astronauts on ISS deal with dental emergency?
As in all things ISS, the crew would turn to the appropriate checklist. In this case, the Medical Checklist.
Its table of contents contains these dentistry-related items:
Here's the first page of ...
- 178k
16
votes
Accepted
Martian dust getting into habitats
One proposed solution to contamination of a habitat by extra-vehicular activity is a Suitport which eliminates the need to bring the suits inside. The crewmember enters and exits the suit through a ...
- 178k
16
votes
Would a broken arm/ leg be more painful in zero gravity?
The closest widely available thing that we have to floating in space is floating in water. Hydrotherapy is sometimes used for recovery when an athlete has broken a bone.
I also happen have some ...
- 261
15
votes
Accepted
Healing of bruises and internal bleeding in 0g
It's a lot worse in space than on land. Quantitative studies on wound healing in zero g haven't really been done as of about 2013 (the latest paper I could find). However, there are some sources ...
- 6,250
14
votes
Accepted
How long were the Apollo astronauts allowed to breathe 100% oxygen at 1 atmosphere continuously?
There are two different effects of oxygen toxicity, the Lorrain-Smith-effect and the Paul-Bert-effect. See Wikipedia.
The Lorrain-Smith-effect may occur at a partial oxygen pressure above 0.5 bar for ...
- 48.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Why would the Apollo Lunar Module pressure dump (to space?) valve have a bacterial filter?
It's one of several factors to prevent Earth microorganisms from contaminating the moon. The Apollo Program Summary Report states
8.5.2.1 Lunar-surface contamination.- Nations involved in the ...
- 47.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible