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Surviving atmospheric spacecraft breakupSpacecraft travel higher and faster than aircraft, making breakup potentially less survivable. As with aircraft breakup, the dissipation of lethal forces via spacecraft breakup around an organism is likely to greatly increase the odds of survival. By employing a knowledge of space and aviation physiology, comparative physiology, and search-and-rescue techniques, we were able to correctly predict and execute the recovery of live animals following the breakup of the space shuttle Columbia. In this study, we make what is, to our knowledge, the first report of an animal, Caenorhabditis elegans, surviving the atmospheric breakup of the spacecraft that was supporting it and discuss both the lethal events these animals had to escape and the implications for search and rescue following spacecraft breakup.
Document ID
20050172317
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Szewczyk, Nathaniel J.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
McLamb, William
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Wilderness & environmental medicine
Volume: 16
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1080-6032
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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