Admit it : There ’s something a small fleck unnerving about the prospect of float around in a teeny , tiny container as you lunge into the infinite abyss . But despite the extremely near quarters — and the closing off , and the darkness — involve in space traveling , there are no records of astronaut behaving violently , either towards themselves or their fellow crew members , while on a charge . ( That ’s credibly thanks to NASA ’s intensepsychological screening process . )
Should that streak ever come up to an end , NASA has a design in place . An admittedly downcast - technical school one , but it ’s something .
grant to documentsobtained by the Associated Pressback in 2007 — that ’s when , if you recall , Captain Lisa Nowak was halt in Orlando , Florida , for attempted murder — if an astronaut has a psychotic break or behaves in a suicidal or murderous fashion , crew member are asked to stockpile out a three - part procedure . First , they ’re conjecture to bind his or her wrists and ankles with duct taping . Next , they ’re instructed to use a bungee cablegram to wed him or her down . lastly , the program line say to inject the individual with tranquilizers .
“ Talk with the affected role while you are restraining him , ” the schoolbook send word . “ Explain what you are doing , and that you are using a control to ensure he is safe . ”
Once he or she has been mortify , the crowd ’s commander is expect to consult with primer control to determine whether or not the shuttle should turn around and head home — or , for an astronaut assign to the International Space Station , if he or she should be sent back to Earth .
First aid outfit at the International Space Station fall equipped with tranquilizer , anti - depression , anti - anxiety , and anti - psychotic medications . ( On flights to and from the ISS , which broadly take less than two weeks , kits check anti - psychotic , but not antidepressants , which broadly speaking take a few calendar week to begin working . ) Once at the distance place , astronauts are required to speak with a psychologist back on Earth twice a month .
The reasoning is that any serious psychological issues — such as the kind that would get an astronaut to act out in a animation - jeopardize mode — would take long than two workweek to develop .
But just in sheath , there ’s a safety net in place . And it ’s made of duct tape .
