Manned Mars Mission and terminal illnes

[Pawelk198604]

I wonder what will happened if astronaut get cancer during trip or need urgent surgery (appendectomy?)

[AstronautGeologist]

When I get to Mars I'll tell you.

Edit: Have you ever read Ben Bova's Mars? The astronauts all get their appendixes removed before the mission for that reason.

[who-is-john-galt]

Well you really can't turn back... Sooo, I'm assuming that that astronaut just has to hope for the best and do without surgery.

[stibbons]

What astronaut goes anywhere without their trusty pocketknife and a knack for improvisation?

[jwenting]

we'll just have to wait until we develop the Doctor, so we can listen to him saying "please state the nature of the medical emergency" before he uses his tricorder which instantly heals anything that ails us

[Dunbaratu]

Or... send someone who already HAS a terminal illness - to save on the cost of having to bring them back. Sounds morbid but it might be workable. Imagine being diagnosed with something that you know for certain will kill you in a terrible wasting-away sort of way becoming a sad shadow of your former self, but it's such that you might still be a functional "working" human being for a year or so before it gets bad. Volunteering to spend your remaining time on a deadly space mission of no return might be a much better way to go with dignity than spending it in a hospital bed.

[Ben Kerman]

Just send a very good doctor and some medical equipment with the mission? A mars mission should have more than three people with it imo (more like 6-10), so having someone who also is a doctor would be quite helpful.

[Henri von Braun]

Or... send someone who already HAS a terminal illness - to save on the cost of having to bring them back. Sounds morbid but it might be workable. Imagine being diagnosed with something that you know for certain will kill you in a terrible wasting-away sort of way becoming a sad shadow of your former self, but it's such that you might still be a functional "working" human being for a year or so before it gets bad. Volunteering to spend your remaining time on a deadly space mission of no return might be a much better way to go with dignity than spending it in a hospital bed.

In human limits, I say this is a pretty good idea. Now to find a very sick person, hmmm...

[SiliconPyro]

Or... send someone who already HAS a terminal illness - to save on the cost of having to bring them back. Sounds morbid but it might be workable. Imagine being diagnosed with something that you know for certain will kill you in a terrible wasting-away sort of way becoming a sad shadow of your former self, but it's such that you might still be a functional "working" human being for a year or so before it gets bad. Volunteering to spend your remaining time on a deadly space mission of no return might be a much better way to go with dignity than spending it in a hospital bed.

Unfortunately, most terminally ill people are in no condition to be flying to other planets. If they suffered an episode of some sort, such as a seizure or vomiting. Then there's the problem of finding someone with a terminal illness who actually has the expertise to make a meaningful contribution.

[Pawelk198604]

we'll just have to wait until we develop the Doctor, so we can listen to him saying "please state the nature of the medical emergency" before he uses his tricorder which instantly heals anything that ails us

Star Trek: Voyager

The Doctor was my favorite character in VOY

[Kerbface]

Unfortunately, most terminally ill people are in no condition to be flying to other planets. If they suffered an episode of some sort, such as a seizure or vomiting. Then there's the problem of finding someone with a terminal illness who actually has the expertise to make a meaningful contribution.

Even if they were in full physical condition but knew they would eventually die from the disease with a quicker, rather than gradual, worsening of their condition, the crew would still have to eventually deal with this as well as knowing all the while that they were going to die long before the rest of the crew. And then you have to deal with the death when it happens. This would be a terrible psychological and emotional strain on everyone involved, and for some time a major physical effort too, in which the person would require the care of those on board. And unlike here on Earth, there's limited medical facilities, limited resources, no counselling, and no world to escape to. Your crew of, say, 6 people, in your tiny little cabin, are all you've got, so imagine if you lost one of those people.

So while it might be a nice idea in concept for someone with a terminal illness to go on a great journey to further mankind, it's really a terrible, terrible idea.

[Nutter]

Yeah. And that would suck very, very, much.

And even discounting that, you're still sending up someone who you know will die. And that means you're using precious fuel sending up someone who will outlive their usefulness far faster than usual. So now you'll have to train and send more people on your one way trip because they're dying on you faster.

The first few colony runs to Mars are probably gonna be a one way affair either way. Won't be the first time explorers did it. I'm willing to wager it won't be the last.

[Morrigi]

Pretty sure that having a terminal illness precludes you from going on a Mars mission regardless of who you ask. However if someone were to die on a spacecraft, I believe standard operating procedure for NASA is to shove them out an airlock, or in the case of dying on a spacewalk cutting their tether.

I believe the Russians actually issued suicide pills to their early cosmonauts should something go horribly wrong.

[Sᴄɪɴᴛɪʟʟᴀᴛᴏʀ]

All astronauts get a full body check up before going on a mission. NASA take that stuff very seriously so it would be extremely unlikely for someone to end up on any mission with an terminal illness.

If it did happen then you would just have to carry on and hope you pull through.

[Rocketscience101]

Well if surgery is needed, we can have a robot that is programmed to do it. Saves on weight in life support, and little bit of money.

[MoonHeadJohn]

There was a program on a good few years ago now made by the BBC which did a sort of realistic drama of a manned interplanetary mission visiting each of the planets within the system (including Pluto, so yeah this was back when it was classed as a planet ).

They needed to make a close pass of the sun in order to reach the next planet on their grand tour of the solar system, they had radiation shielding and their own magnetic field generator but being so close to the sun one of them got too large a dose and ended up developing cancer. They couldn't simply turn around and they didn't have the resources to save him, so by the time they reached Saturn he passed away. This had a large psychological impact on the crew, and they had to remove the body as they didn't have the facilities to store it for the voyage home. Instead they did a bit of a Star Trek funeral and sent his body out to join the rings of Saturn (quite a nice idea for a send of really).

So yeah TL;DR: Develop cancer, you're screwed. You'll either be buried on Mars or shot off into space.

Also, I imagine a fair few of you have heard about the idea of a private firm sending small groups of people to establish a colony on Mars? Well keeping this in mind, I remember coming across an article a few months back which talked about a potential comet impact. Guess which planet it might hit. . . Yeah, you guessed right, Mars might just get struck by a comet going in the other direction. So if this is a possibility and we send over a bunch of people for a one way trip, why are these plans still being looked into? I know the mission looks to get people there in the early 2020s and this may happen in 2014, but if it did then it would change everything.

[DisarmingBaton5]

What astronaut goes anywhere without their trusty pocketknife and a knack for improvisation?

You mean a SNACK for improv... I am a bad person.

[Awaras]

It really depends on how long the mission is supposed to take. All astronauts go through detailed medical checkups before going on mission, and an astronaut would have to be very very unlucky to develop an illness during the mission that would progress so fast that it would incapacitate him in a few months.

On the other hand, you have to assume that any long term mission like Mars One or the permanent mars colony with 80.000 people that SpaceX is planning will include medical specialists and equipment needed for medical treatments...

[Dunbaratu]

Even if they were in full physical condition but knew they would eventually die from the disease with a quicker, rather than gradual, worsening of their condition, the crew would still have to eventually deal with this as well as knowing all the while that they were going to die long before the rest of the crew.

At no point did I claim I was suggesting sending a mixed crew with half the people with terminal illnesses and half the people without. I was implying a mission where everyone going knows it's a one-way for them.

[Kerbface]

At no point did I claim I was suggesting sending a mixed crew with half the people with terminal illnesses and half the people without. I was implying a mission where everyone going knows it's a one-way for them.

And you can set this up so that everyone will die at the same time and it'll happen in a matter of minutes so they don't have to take care of each other while their condition is getting worse?

[Sᴄɪɴᴛɪʟʟᴀᴛᴏʀ]

And you can set this up so that everyone will die at the same time and it'll happen in a matter of minutes so they don't have to take care of each other while their condition is getting worse?

I presume when they were unable to work or look after themselves they would be euthanised and buried or ejected from the airlock depending on the location. It sounds callous but the whole mission is a big suicide pill in the first place and wouldn't happen in reality.

[Dunbaratu]

And you can set this up so that everyone will die at the same time and it'll happen in a matter of minutes so they don't have to take care of each other while their condition is getting worse?

I ALSO never implied that the plan was to continue indefinitely at the very very end of your ability to exist, lingering to a slow death. This is like doctor-assisted suicide where people chose to die before it gets so far along that they're a total vegetable, except that it would be spaceflight-assisted suicide, essentially. It should be likened to the Dignitas clinic, not a bedridden nursing home.

Of course, society's attitude about having the freedom to choose whether you want to continue living would have to change before such a thing would be allowed to go forward, so it's not likely to be implemented, but that's not because it's a bad idea. It's because of cultural attitudes being against it.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Steven Mading

[Kerbface]

Well, you'd better hope that nobody has any major health issues before every goal in the mission is completed then... because then everyone has to kill themselves. On top of already operating at below full capacity during the disease's early stages.

[Dunbaratu]

Well, you'd better hope that nobody has any major health issues before every goal in the mission is completed then... because then everyone has to kill themselves. On top of already operating at below full capacity during the disease's early stages.

So, do you think a platoon of soldiers immediately stops functioning and breaks down completely when the first soldier dies? That seems to be what your objections are based on - the idea that human beings are incapable of handling death under stress.

[Kerbface]

So, do you think a platoon of soldiers immediately stops functioning and breaks down completely when the first soldier dies? That seems to be what your objections are based on - the idea that human beings are incapable of handling death under stress.

I explained all this in my first post. It's a cruel and unnecessary thing to do, especially when you've got no live contact except with the few other people around you. They may be able to remain functioning, that doesn't make it any less of a horrible thing to do to them.