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NooneAtAll3

whatever is the cause, it is not immediate - or they would've been on the ground couple days ago

so no, not appendix

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Pregnancy?

This is what I keep thinking.

- Theres a 38 year old woman in the crew

- It’s a medical condition that likely wasn’t present when the mission started 4 months ago

- It’s serious enough to return the crew, but not serious enough that they must do so immediately

I guess we’ll find out in 9 months? (Or not…)

As I understand it, the studies done with mice suggest that microgravity prevents normal embryo development. The ISS should therefore be regarded as a teratogenic environment, and I'd be shocked if women of childbearing age weren't prescribed highly-effective contraceptives (ie. IUD/IUS or implant) before, during, and after spaceflight.

I’m sure they were prescribed, but it’s always possible for them to fail.

I’m curious at what point in the embryo’s development the zero-g becomes an issue, if its immediate vs long term thing. It’s very possible that if it was pregnancy, the embryo is already not viable but she still needs some procedures to ensure her own health (a DnC, etc) that are important but not enough for an emergency evac.

Are you implying that the pregnancy condition occurred onboard?

Yes. Sex isn’t allowed on the ISS due to complications with pregnancy, but it’s not crazy to imagine that maybe they just did it anyway. (Who wouldn’t want to? It’s sex in space and it sounds amazing.)

There are probably a hundred ailments or illnesses that can fit this description, maybe someone noticed a swollen lymph node or lump somewhere

Yeah it’s definitely just a thought. Getting pregnant in space the sort of sordid thing that’s fun to speculate on, but ultimately we just don’t have enough information. We’ll probably never know, either.

From an alien?

Maybe testicular torsion triggered by zero-G conditions?

That's a "needs to be in the OR in 6 hours" situation; no way they waited several days for it.

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