Drinking astronauts are nothing new

Drinking astronauts are nothing new

* Preview of article to be published 04 August 2007

* NewScientist.com news service

Anyone who has read Riding Rockets, Mike Mullane's account of his life as a shuttle astronaut, may not be overly surprised to learn NASA is investigating the drinking habits of its astronauts.

Following the release last week of a NASA healthcare review, it emerged that one astronaut may have piloted a NASA T-38 training jet while under the influence, and another may have been drunk on a Soyuz flight. Alcohol does seem to be used, at least by some astronauts on duty. Mullane writes that some colleagues found beer's diuretic effects helped lessen the need to pee later on when strapped into the shuttle.

Surely getting sozzled is not NASA policy? "No it is not. We don't know who was allowed to do what, when or how at this point," a NASA spokesman told New Scientist. "We have never seen any indication that astronauts have participated in such activity to achieve those results."

From issue 2615 of New Scientist magazine, 04 August 2007, page 6