Physician’s working group guides COVID-19 prevention in a mission critical environment

ABSTRACT

BackgroundA team was assembled at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to help navigate the shifting COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal was to mitigate the impact of COVID on astronauts, other essential personnel, and the human spaceflight program. This team supplemented the JSC Pandemic Incident Response Group, whose function is to set policy for the overall management of JSC’s COVID-19 mitigations for all onsite mission-essential and mission-critical activities, including health policy.ContextThe first mission to return to Earth from the International Space Station at the start of the pandemic returned when there was limited information about the transmission and prevention of COVID-19. The medical leadership at JSC determined that a dedicated team was required to navigate the uncharted waters of the pandemic.Description of ActivitiesIssues tackled by this panel included prevention of COVID-19 transmission during altitude, dive, and spacecraft training – activities that require prolonged close contact between multiple individuals who often cannot safely wear face masks;mitigating the risks of domestic and international travel for essential personnel;securing COVID-19 testing from local and foreign hospital systems;acquiring antigen and PCR analyzers for in-house testing;and the development of quarantine policies for crewed spacecraft launches and landings in Kazakhstan and the United States. The panel also provides clinical return-to-work guidance for cases of COVID-19 in essential personnel.