A recent article in ScrippsNews posed the following question in the title of their article: "Should NASA deliver bad news to astronauts in space?" This... in the wake of the Gabrielle Giffords tragedy (her husband is astronaut Mark Kelly.)
The article can be found here: http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/should-nasa-deliver-bad-news-astronauts-space.
What's your opinion? Should astronauts be shielded from events on earth of a personal nature? What's more important-- keeping a family member informed... or ensuring all systems nominal on a space mission?
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We actually asked this question to Astronaut Dan Tani during the STS-133 NASA Tweetup. He was kind enough to speak to us on launch day when Discovery had complications and wasn't able to launch.
ReplyDeleteAstronaut Tani stated that it was so hard to receive the news of his mother's passing in Space, but said the news wouldn't have been easier to hear on the ground.
He stated that it did hurt him to not be able to be there for his family. It was a distraction. But he also stated that it brought his team together in a unified way that he couldn't describe AND he stated that he couldn't fathom returning home to hear that it had happened and everyone went through it without telling him. He was able to communicate with his family quite a bit (now that technology advancements have made this possible) and the support and encouragement he received from his colleagues on ISS was so inspiring - he thinks of their support often.
Whitney-- most interesting! Thanks for the insights... and hope to see you posting again soon!
ReplyDeleteEleanor O'Rangers/CEO SMA