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Published Online: 16 October 2009

Recruiting Mentally Healthy Astronauts

Publication: Psychiatric News
Volume 44, Number 20
https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.44.20.0009a
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Just as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wants to make sure that the individuals it selects for its astronaut corps are physically fit, it also wants to make sure that they are mentally fit. But what procedures does it use to achieve these goals?
Psychiatrist and space scientist Nick Kanas, M.D. (see Psychiatrist Gains Otherworldly View of Mental Health), was once involved in NASA's astronaut-selection process.
“The process involves psychiatric screening and psychological testing, as well as a general medical exam,” he told Psychiatric News. “Once a person is selected for the astronaut corps, further evaluation is primarily based on a yearly medical exam that includes a psychiatric evaluation.
“Once astronauts are selected for flight, they are observed carefully during their year or so of training for possible psychological or interpersonal problems, and if these are detected, their participation may be terminated.
“Of course, mental status can change over time. For example, it is public knowledge that some of the astronauts, upon returning home from space, have experienced alcoholism, depression, or marital problems. On the other hand, there are no guarantees either that, even if they pass all the medical exams, they will remain physically healthy. We can't always predict with 100 percent accuracy what will happen to people over the years.” ▪

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Psychiatric News
Volume 44 • Number 20 • October 16, 2009
Pages: 9

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Published online: 16 October 2009
Published in print: October 16, 2009

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