Space Adaptation Syndrome - History

History

Space motion sickness was effectively unknown during the earliest spaceflights as these were undertaken in very cramped conditions; it seems to be aggravated by being able to freely move around and so is more common in larger spacecraft. After the Apollo 8 and Apollo 9 flights, where astronauts reported space motion sickness to Mission Control and then were subsequently removed from the flight list, astronauts (e.g. the Skylab 4 crew) attempted to prevent Mission Control from learning about their own SAS experience, apparently out of concern for their future flight assignment potential.

As with sea sickness and car sickness, space motion sickness symptoms can vary from mild nausea and disorientation, to vomiting and intense discomfort; headaches and nausea are often reported in varying degrees. About half of sufferers experience mild symptoms; only around 10% suffer severely. The most extreme reaction yet recorded was that felt by Senator Jake Garn in 1985. After his flight NASA astronauts began using the informal "Garn scale" to measure reactions to space sickness. In most cases, symptoms last from 2–4 days. In an interview with Carol Butler, when asked about the origins of "Garn" Robert E. Stevenson was quoted as saying:

Jake Garn was sick, was pretty sick. I don't know whether we should tell stories like that. But anyway, Jake Garn, he has made a mark in the Astronaut Corps because he represents the maximum level of space sickness that anyone can ever attain, and so the mark of being totally sick and totally incompetent is one Garn. Most guys will get maybe to a tenth Garn, if that high. And within the Astronaut Corps, he forever will be remembered by that. —Robert E. Stevenson