In a first, NASA orders astronauts home after unspecified medical issue

"The crew is highly trained, and they came to the aid of their colleague right away."

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[lsherida]

They don’t have to, and they’re not even allowed to without consent.

Thinking about how I would react if I were the astronaut in question, at first I figured I'd have no issue with people knowing about my medical conditions (in most cases). But then I got to thinking that being that open might put pressure on other astronauts to be similarly open, even if they weren't comfortable doing so.

So even though I'd be cool with being an open book, I'd probably err on the side of preserving the culture of privacy.

 

[lsherida]

When I read about this situation I keep picturing an irritable AI hologram popping up on the spacecraft and saying “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

As a volunteer EMT that runs my fair share of 9-1-1 calls, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for the right situation to say that.