Snow Survival Training of Astronauts: Through the eyes of a Flight Surgeon

Abstract

Manned space flight missions always harbor within themselves the possibility of an off-nominal re-entry and landing. The crew has to be prepared to deal with such an eventuality. Hence, survival training post-landing forms an integral part of the pre-flight preparation of an astronaut. The survival training is aimed at enhancing the ability of the crew to take rational decisions and actions during extreme situations after an emergency escape from a spacecraft, till the arrival of the search and rescue team. The training enables the crew to acquire the skills required in the event of an off-nominal landing (or splashdown). This paper deals with the snow survival training for astronaut candidates conducted by a foreign Astronaut Training Centre. The Snow Survival Training program consists of theoretical lectures, practical demonstrations in the field, and 48 h of snow survival in real environmental conditions. With the advent of the Human Spaceflight Programme, the lessons learnt in the snow survival training would be helpful in conducting extreme weather training for Indian Astronauts as well as serve as a welcome addition to the existing training pattern of Jungle and Snow Survival courses for aircrew in India.