http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070207/ap_on_re_us/astronaut_arrested
This was really disappointing for me. You'd expect NASA to have a better screening system in place. The scary thing about it is that we'll be colonizing space one day, and people like that might be living on Mars. It sort of weakens the idealism that so many people have about space exploration. Any thoughts? How many other astronauts have been arrested for violent crimes?
2007-02-06 15:21:19 · 7 answers · asked by Clean Independent Energy 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Astronauts are human and subject to human fallibilities like everyone else. They are held to a higher standard than Joe Average and therefore have much more pressure and may be more prone to crack. However, she shouldn't get any special treatment because of her status. She could face both criminal and military charges as she's in the armed forces on loan to NASA.
2007-02-06 15:33:55 · answer #1 · answered by kwilfort 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Very, very strange. NASA does have an extraordinary screening process in place. Astronauts are an extremely select group. Hard to imagine what happened in this instance. I don't believe any other astronaut has ever been charged with a crime, much less a serious one like this.
2007-02-06 23:31:47 · answer #2 · answered by tychobrahe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Love drives people to do very strange things sometimes, and I wonder a bit as to whether or not this woman experienced some kind of mental breakdown that led to this incident. I doubt you can expect this sort of thing to happen often, and is more than likely a freak accident of sorts. Maybe her time in space altered her psycologically in some way...
2007-02-06 23:31:38 · answer #3 · answered by Jonny Jo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure NASA screened well for what they could. People are people in all walks of life. Anyone can turn out to be a nut, or just have a very bad lapse of judgment. If screening eliminated all problem people, few people would ever have a chance to hurt others. It's just not logistally possible to detect them all.
It just happens sometimes.
2007-02-06 23:27:55 · answer #4 · answered by K.B. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember as a child of children wanting to be an astronaut when they grow up. They were our heores. The situation is a disgrace to the astonaut corps.
2007-02-06 23:51:55 · answer #5 · answered by orion_1812@yahoo.com 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the end we're all humans, no matter our professions... unfortunately for this woman her career is down the drain for something this stupid and obviously something psychotic for someone that smart and with a future like that. Just proves that you never know people.
2007-02-06 23:32:33 · answer #6 · answered by Lexus-Nut 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It appears that she had some kind of a mental breakdown. Her marriage just broke up and that may have had some effect on her.
2007-02-06 23:29:11 · answer #7 · answered by notyou311 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋