What Drugs Do Astronauts Take?

astroengine writes "Science fiction is stuffed full of examples of pill-popping space explorers and aliens enjoying psychedelic highs. After all, space is big; it can get boring/scary/crazy up there. It's little wonder, then, that our current space explorers consume a cocktail of uppers, downers, tranquilizers and alcohol to get the job done. Robert Lamb on tranquilizers in the space station: 'Sure, it hardly makes for a civilized evening aboard ISS, but it beats someone blowing the hatch because they think they saw something crawling on one of the solar panels.'"

Comments

ah duct tape....

[Shakrai]

That ever useful tool. However would we have gone to the stars without it?

Yes, according to a 2007 report from the Associated Press, astronauts keep a few tranqs on hand in case anyone goes all suicidal or psychotic in space. NASA recommends binding the individual's wrists and ankles with duct tape (ever the space traveler's friend!), strapping them down with a bungee cord and, if necessary, sticking them with a tranquilizer.

Has any sci-fi show other than Firefly ever mentioned duct tape?

Re:ah duct tape....

[mrsurb]

If it's not supposed to move but does... use duct tape.
If it is supposed to move but doesn't... use WD40.

Re:ah duct tape....

[DerekLyons]

FWIW, when I was in the [USN] Submarine Service, we were prepared to do the same thing if a crew member went off the rails. (Though the doc had a couple of sets of soft restraints we'd use instead of tape.)
 
That being said, we did use 'EB Green' (a tape that makes the useless crap falsely sold to John Q public as 'duct tape' look like tissue paper) for a wide variety of things.

Re:ah duct tape....

[shiftless]

If it is supposed to move but doesn't... use WD40.

[pedant]

WD40 is actually terrible for this job. It was originally invented to be sprayed on metal parts to prevent them from rusting, and it works well for that. It's not a good lubricant though nor does it penetrate corrosion very well. On moving parts it attracts and holds in dirt and "dries out" within a relatively short period, leaving the part binding/squeaking worse than before. For a rust penetrant, use something like PB Blaster or Sea Foam. For a lubricant, use oil or something designed specifically for that purpose.

[/pedant]

You ever...

[turing_m]

You ever watch C beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate... on weed?

New technical problems on the ISS . . .

[PolygamousRanchKid]

. . . the bong is busted. First the bog, and now the bong . . . hopefully the crack pipe will keep going . . .

Dude....

[Paxtez]

I'm not sure what they take, but whatever they are, they are out of this world...

Please untie all of this duct tape!

[WGFCrafty]

I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that.

Please do try a diazepam or alprazolam Dave, they will surely calm you down.

Don't forget the viagra

[syousef]

...for all the secret space sex experiments the NASA conspiracy nuts think are going on, and because they need to keep their bat servicable when they casually let it slip that they're an astronaut in all the bars around KSC.

Blood of Christ?

[maggotbrain_777]

Aldrin took communion on the moon? I had never heard that.

Obligatory

[srussia]

"Do they smoke grass out in space, Bowie? Or do they smoke astroturf?

Fox News ?

[Anonymous Coward]

WTF is slashdot doing linking to an article from Fox News?
It's bad enough linking to UK stories from the Daily Mail, but Faux News is taking the piss.

.

One drug is certain

[JamesP]

Antiemetics (that is, anti-throw-up / anti-motion-sickness)

Not having gravity to "set things straight" can mess things up royally (in several ways)

Lies, Damn Lies and "Science" Articles

[DynaSoar]

Perhaps it's my limited understanding of the word "do" at fault. I can only think of it in the present tense, rather than the future conditionals attached to such as "might". This leads me to have all kinds of misunderstandings, like wondering why they're taking pills to counteract a dust (!) that nobody's been closer than 230,000 miles to in the last 40 years. Or why the articles blathers on about zombies and CIA truth serum when talking about a sleeping/motion sickness pill that's been OTC for longer than NASA has been chartered. Or why NASA is having them take a "cocktail" to "get the job done" which would, if the description is accurate, prevent the job from getting done if not kill them (alcohol + uppers + downers + tranqs? Anyone remember Karen Ann Quinlan?). Quoting details from the equally unqualified and/or wrong doesn't dilute the article's idiocy. The content could have made a perfectly good article. Too bad the writer felt unequal to the job of writing a real article as you'd expect in a science magazine.

This article should be in "Entertainment". Or, if we're to keep such trash under science, we should have some subclasses that apply, like 'bullshit', 'lies', and 'science? what's that?'. Or maybe we just need to change the "news for nerds, stuff that matters" to "stuff that might fit into the popular subjects here, and might be real, or not; we're not sure, we don't read it".

Is this the result of voting on suitability of submissions? If so, maybe we ought to look into having editors that actually know something about the area they cover and approve articles based on content rather than side effects. It appears that ironically 'games' is getting more serious treatment than 'science'. Part of the problem is the 'science' articles being written, such as TFA. But the fix for that is the same fix for including decent science articles.

Re:Lies, Damn Lies and "Science" Articles

[nxtw]

Besides, exactly what available drugs can enhance your ability to operate heavy machinery? I'm pretty sure anything with alcohol is out, and narcotics too. I can't think of anything stronger than what's in an energy drink, even those can be trouble if you're not careful.

Stimulants or similar drugs; all the good ones are controlled substances. Specifically, the linked Discovery News article says the astronauts take modafinil, which is approved in the US for those with sleep disorders but useful for many other conditions as well. Modafinil can be used in many situations where ampetamine/methylphenidate and friends could be used instead, and typically with less side effects. Also, the Discovery News article mentions dexedrine. Any of these drugs are likely to improve mental performance when used properly; although I must say it's unfair that astronauts get to use modafinil off-label when people know it can be effective for other conditions.

Caffeine is rather weak compared to these (scheduled) drugs, and has side effects of its own. Energy drinks might just create more problems - I've only used them a few times - and most of the time I felt worse afterwards. If I need to consume caffeine, I stick with pills (around a hundred times cheaper than energy drinks!) or coffee.

When taken at the doses needed to be effective, caffeine has more side effects than any of the scheduled substances I've used. (I've been addicted to caffeine since high school.) Of course, caffeine is usually consumed in the form of beverages or cheap pills, not expensive pills with gradual release mechanisms that reduce the effects of a large initial dose and sharp drop-off.

He did it shortly after landing...

[Ellis D. Tripp]

, but he and NASA kept it quiet to prevent a repeat of the Apollo 8 controversy, where NASA was sued by an atheist group over the reading of Genesis from lunar orbit on Xmas eve, 1968.