I Goncharov, MD, PhD, and I Kovachevich, MD, PhD, Medical Operations Branch, Institute of Biomedical Problems, Moscow, Russia. Dramatic unsurvivable accidents such as the explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle demonstrate graphically that traumatic injury is a real risk of space exploration.
Traumatic injuries requiring medical treatment are likely to be blunt.
Penetrating injuries, however, can also occur during EVA, with violation of the protective space suit by a micrometeorite or local space hardware, which would produce an explosive decompression. Environmental exposure to extremes of ambient pressure, temperature, hypoxia, and radiation could also result. These insults are likely to be lethal, precluding the requirement for medical care. Explosive decompression to a vacuum would allow dissolved gases to enter the gaseous state. Throughout human history, accidents during construction and exploration have caused death and disability.