New NASA Health Team to Evaluate Astronauts

NASA has announced Monday that they are hiring a new Health team to help assess the men and woman in the Astronaut program. The current program is designed to asses the mental and physical capabilities and limitations of current and future astronauts in the program. These changes in the health teams is most likely in response to the violent actions of former astronaut Lisa Nowak.

Nowak was assigned to recent shuttle missions before her arrest in an attempted attack n another woman. Nowak and this other woman were both interested in the same man, who is an astronaut as well. Lisa Nowak drove fro Texas to Orlando, non-stop wearing adult diapers, so she would not have to stop during her trip, in order to attack this woman. After she was caught and arrested the case caught big attention from the media. Her trial is scheduled for some time in July.

This isolated case calls into question the validity of NASA's current evaluation process. Lisa Nowak, according to these evaluations, was a perfectly sane individual who showed no signs of ever being capable of something like the plan she attempted to carry out. But as we have all seen something was missed or not caught in time, however there is the possibility and probability that people are just unstable. Whatever the case may be new and more challenging, through, and rigorous test are in the works and will be used in the very near future.

Current employees of the Space Program are preparing to undergo a new series of new test once the new staff of doctors gets settles in. The though behind this is, if the old test were ineffective then what's to say that another problem will not occur if current employees are not re-evaluated.

In a stress related situation you have to be at your best anyways, and especially when thrust into an alien environment like space your going to need all your wits about you. The average person may think that they can handle the pressures, but there is so much more to these missions and training then the public can even dream to know about. Testing to become an astronaut includes training in enclosed spaces, underwater, and in isolation for an allotted period of time. These are just a few of the most basic physical and psychological test that are conducted during training.

NASA released the names of over a dozen doctors that will be instituted in this new program. This new team will look at the current evaluations of all current astronauts enrolled in NASA's space program, then they will look at the current evaluation process. This process is then going to be revised as need to fit new standards and test employees in new ways. After this revision is done, all current astronauts and those training to become astronauts will undergo new psychological evaluations using these updated standards.

All of this is necessary to keep the space program running smoothly and safely. NASA is prepared to go the extra mile to assure the success of this program and to see that only the most qualified professionals make it to the launch pad.