Drinking alcohol in space is it okay, allowed?

[yoda9999]

Does alcohol have any effects on astronauts not found on Earth? <br />Does NASA, ESA or Russian Space Agency allow their astronauts to freely drink alcohol in space?<br /><br />I'm sure NASA wants to give the space program a clean image. But I would think that moderate amounts of alcohol could be used to relieve the stress and boredom of long term space travel. In the Age of Discovery, wine, brandy and rum were given to sailors to prevent them from going crazy.

 

[themanwithoutapast]

I remember that Roskosmos did delete vodka from the supplies that went up to Mir on Progress once. Cosmonauts complained and after a while they put the vodka back on the supplies manifest.

 

[3488]

I understand that it was banned aboard Skylab, as the 'Temperance Movement' Banned it.<br /><br />Myself, I do not see any problem with astronauts / cosmonauts having alcohol, so long as it is drunk responsibly & in moderation. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[j05h]

The book Dragonfly records that cosmonauts on Mir stripped wall/equipment panelling on at least one occasion, searching for stowed bottles of vodka. It's definitely a different attitude from US spaceflight.<br /><br />josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

DOES IT HARM OR NOT?

 

[j05h]

I'm pretty sure alcohol's effects are somewhat amplified due to how freefall alters bloodflow. I doubt there has ever been enough vodka onboard to get really pickled. Could lead to an interesting study of liver disease on orbit.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[yoda9999]

When people go to Mars, it's going to be an awfully long flight. And I don't think we'll have hibernation technology by the first missions. There's going to have to be some allowance for drinking. Maybe they can let the astronauts make their own beer.

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>The book Dragonfly records that cosmonauts on Mir stripped wall/equipment panelling on at least one occasion, searching for stowed bottles of vodka. It's definitely a different attitude from US spaceflight. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />A US astronaut once reported finding a bottle of brandy behind a panel aboard Mir. The brandy had never been on a Progress or Soyuz manifest -- somebody had smuggled it aboard. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />A small amount of some kind of alcohol (I think it was also brandy) was provided to the Apollo 10 astronauts for a Christmas dinner in lunar orbit.<br /><br />Alcohol definitely will affect you in space. And if you're spacesick, it may make it worse. It's certainly not a good idea to get drunk. (Heck, it's better to stay sober on Earth too. One drink a day is not gonna hurt, but it's not good for your body to routinely get hammered.) I guess I'd support sending them small amounts of alcohol -- quarter-bottles of wine, perhaps. You don't get drunk off of one of those. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> They're all very responsible people. I think they can be trusted to drink it only on their off days. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

Indeed, drinking at high elevation has more of an effect, and the reduced pressure on the ISS should emulate that.

 

[scottb50]

If I remember right the ISS is at normal sea level pressure. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[themanwithoutapast]

Correct. Plus, I don't think Russian cosmonauts still get their vodka rations on ISS. Mir was different...

 

[CalliArcale]

Or if they do, it's through, um, "unofficial channels". <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[steve82]

I think one of the problems with alcohol onboard the ISS is that vapor from alcohol can, in large quantities, mess up the ECLSS system. There are specific defined limits on how many alcohol wipes they are allowed to use in a given day.

 

[alokmohan]

Dont get drunk is the key word.It should be taken during off time.

 

[erioladastra]

<br />Alcohol is not permitted on ISS, Russian or US. However, it still seems to get up there from what I have heard. The Russians actually have little plastic bags sealed for spaceflight to send up. Holds about a shot. I have a couple.

 

[themanwithoutapast]

the trend in wine goes towards not using cork for bottles - even for really good wine.

 

[yoda9999]

I can understand why they ban the pilots from drinking. But they shouldn't ban the scientists and tourists from drinking.

 

[davf]

Drink it first?? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[rocketman5000]

I'll have to dig up the link but recently Live Science had an article about pigs being more or less put into "hibernation" by draining their blood and putting in an "anti freeze" that slowed metabolisism and detoxed the blood free radicals and the such. <br /><br />don't think I'd want to be the one to sign up for that though....

 

[erioladastra]

"I can understand why they ban the pilots from drinking. But they shouldn't ban the scientists and tourists from drinking."<br /><br />1) The environmental system was not designed to handle alcohol so even small amounts show up in the system. We can tell <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> 2) On a plane the pilot and crew are critical for the passenger's safety. However, on a space station, everyone is critical for everyone's safety. One person get injured in a life threatening accident and you really need to have 2 people with their wits about them.

 

[johns805]

....It's not likely to happen, but I think I'd be a really dumb dipstick if I took a space trip with a bunch of freely drunk astro/cosmo/taikonauts, etc...~JBK

 

[redstone_1]

The reason alcohol affects you more at low pressure (as at high altitude) has more to do with the density of the air and thus the oxygen content at that altitude than the pressure. Since alcohol impedes the delivery of oxygen to the brain, in a low-oxygen environment the effect is even more pronounced. The pressure of the ISS or any space vehicle would probably be inconsequential considering the high volume of oxygen in the air. Especially in the old Apollo era they breathed almost pure oxygen, it might be debatable whether alcohol would have much of an effect at all. <br /><br />The stuff about the things with the water recycling on the Space station is different though. After a good bender, you'd sweat out the alcohol, but it would not be alcohol anymore, your body would have oxidized it so what would be evaporated from your skin would just be sweat. Unless you spilled a bunch of it (more and more likely depending on the amount consumed) the collectors on the ISS would probably never get any more alcohol than they collect from the moist towlettes the astronauts have to use after their trips to Famous Dave's.

 

[erioladastra]

Not sure I follow your first part but ISS is maintained at normal 14.7 psi with O2 equivalent to sea level. Towlettes, or anything with alcohol, are not allowed because even that is too much. We can't even use it to clean the heads of the VTRs! But it does show up in the codensate tank which is collected humidity.

 

[lunatic133]

I imagine that if it were me the combination of alcohol and microgravity would do unpleasant things to my stomach. But it's an interesting concept, and I've also heard that the Russians have smuggled vodka and even cigarettes onto Mir in the past.

 

[tplank]

I hope you are correct. Civilization in Space without beer would be...well...uncivilized. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>The Disenfranchised Curmudgeon</p><p>http://tonyplank.blogspot.com/ </p> </div>