• Question: what if someone automatically ill in space how will they get medical help?

    Asked by KK to Charlie 🚀, Andrea, Col Op, Kirsty on 21 Jun 2016. This question was also asked by Angel, matthew2004.
    • Photo: Charles Laing

      Charles Laing answered on 21 Jun 2016:

      Hi KK,

      Often one of the members of the crew is a qualified doctor and even when this is not the case all astronauts had some level of medical training.

      Astronauts are highly trained individuals who have had very strict medical tests to make sure they are fit enough for space. This makes it less likely for astronauts to get ill in space but if they do there is help on hand from their crewmates. Also, all the medical supplies they may need are on-board the International Space Station (ISS).

      Charlie 🚀

    • Photo: Andrea Boyd

      Andrea Boyd answered on 23 Jun 2016:

      All the astronauts have medical training, dentist training and even work during their astronaut training in a hospital emergency room. So they can treat each other using the medical equipment on board ISS. Plus they have telemedicine links to specialists on ground and can do ultrasounds etc live with a specialist. And of course their personal space Doctor who they talk to in a private conference every week knows everything about them in great detail and they would come to mission control to help the astronaut over private videoconference too.

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