Coronavirus: Astronauts in quarantine before ISS mission to avoid spreading virus to space
Astronauts preparing to head to the International Space Station are taking extra precautions to ensure they don't take the novel coronavirus that has infected close to 150,000 on Earth into space as well.
NASA's Chris Cassidy, and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who are scheduled to make the journey on April 9, have been prohibited from leaving the Star City training center outside Moscow, it is being reported.
The news was confirmed by Pavel Vlasov, the head of Star City, who said astronauts and crew routinely go into such quarantines ahead of such missions but that the current quarantine had started "earlier than usual." NASA and its numerous international partners usually mandate that astronauts stay in quarantine for two weeks before launching into space in a process known as "health stabilization."
It is a procedure that is considered especially important because day-to-day living in microgravity can affect the human immune system, and is something they are taking very seriously in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept across 142 countries.
"We expect them to take additional measures to make sure that quarantine is a little tighter," said Kirk Shireman, ISS program manager at NASA. "We're ready to deal with that if it happens."
Cassidy, Ivanishin, and Vagner will also forgo the ceremonial tour that has been a tradition since 1961, and tours of Star City have also been canceled amidst the outbreak.
"The crews are not making any trips out, even such traditional ones as visiting the Kremlin wall and the house of Sergei Korolyov on the eve of departure for Baikonur," Vlasov said in a statement.
Besides the standard spaceflight health measures, NASA is said to be "closely adhering" to the infection-control recommendations made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to combat the spread of COVID-19, said Brandi Dean, from the organization's Public Affairs Office.
"This includes cleaning of surfaces, social distancing, emphasizing hand hygiene, encouraging NASA team members who are sick to stay home and limiting contact with crewmembers," Dean explained.
The International Space Station last got visitors from Earth in September and is currently cleared of COVID-19.