‘No Emergency’: NASA Clarifies After Broadcasting Distress Signal From ISS By Mistake

US space agency NASA has released a statement after it accidentally played an audio from a stimulation that made it sound like astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) were in distress. The audio, played on Wednesday, created confusion among space enthusiasts who were watching the livestream on YouTube.

In the stimulation audio, a female voice was heard saying phrases like “get commander back in his suit”. The voice also instructed fellow astronauts to check the “commander’s” pulse and give him oxygen.

A day later, in a post from the official X handle of ISS, NASA clarified on the audio clip.

“There is no emergency situation going on aboard the International Space Station. At approximately 5:28 p.m. CDT, audio was aired on the NASA livestream from a simulation audio channel on the ground indicating a crew member was experiencing effects related to decompression sickness (DCS),” the post on X read.

NASA explained that the simulation audio was about a scenario in which a crew member experiences decompression sickness.

“The drill audio was misrouted to the live stream which caused confusion. The International Space Station crew members were in their sleep period at the time and all remain healthy and safe,” ISS mentioned.

In the comments, many wrote that ISS should have given the clarification promptly instead of waiting for a day. An X user wrote, “You guys should be faster at posting this kind of thing. Thank god there is nothing happening.”

A user even joked, “For a moment I thought the Aliens had arrived.”

An X user wrote, “You can’t blame the space community for reacting to this as hearing that accidental broadcast is unprecedented and unexpected. Obviously, NASA needs to look at why this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

Someone wrote, “Relieved this was a sim. NASA should have checked their audio channel! But it highlights the issue with regard to posting info relating to medical emergencies on Twitter – imagine if this *had* been real, and families/friends had first heard about it on Twitter.”

An X user commented, “This was exactly what was going through my mind, I was like what if we’re all scared and panicking down here while the crew is up there just chilling in their sleep.”

The decompression sickness is a life threatening condition that occurs when a steep change in air or water pressure prompts bubbles to form in the body’s tissues and blood. This can happen during scuba diving, deep-sea diving, or at high-altitude travel. Space agencies and ISS astronauts often use stimulation audio to practice emergency scenarios. The drill audio is also shared with the ground staff to practice coordination in case of an emergency.