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BBC Earth Science 10 Jun 2026 20 here now

The Oxygen Test That Fooled Future Astronauts | BBC Earth Science

Stress can impair judgement in unexpected ways. As these astronaut candidates undergo low oxygen training, some become convinced they're feeling symptoms that exist only in their minds.

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James, after cinching the noose:

"New time record for a spacewalk? I'm ready."
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@ZuluGMT From YouTube ↗ 30 Jun 2026 7
This plays out like a reality television show and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
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I recently finished tapering off a mood stabilizer that caused cognitive deficits and it was difficult to recognize when it's happening. After some time I'd notice obvious things but a lot of stuff only seems obvious after a reduction in medication. It's hard to notice things that aren't there.
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This reminds me of the video where military pilots go through G-force testing. One student does really well so they give him the 30sec 9G challange.
About halfway through he stops using the "hick"-breathing method, they remind him to use it and he says something along the lines of "it's okey, I'm fine"
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You can find our full compilation of Astronauts: Toughest Job in the Universe here: https://youtu.be/YFECn46FKLc
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Need to get a proper helmet HUD for these types of readings then there is no guessing.
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they're obviously getting in their own heads because they are consciously anticipating it. i feel like in a situation where they arent anticipating it constantly, it'd be easier to tell if they suddenly feel different. am i wrong? i feel like this test is a BIT flawed and should be tested secretly so they wont be constantly anticipating and getting in their own head about it. then again i dont know how this test is fully conducted and im basing what i am seeing on what im saying now, so idk
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Power of the mind & belief. ☃️
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I have a feeling James could've gone away below 50% before passing out
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@tonamg53 From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 18
“Yes, I’m still feeling a bit woozy”

Blood oxygen level never went below 100%

🤣
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This is weird. Actual hypoxia creeps up on people without being noticed. That's what killed Payne Stewart's pilots.
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What I learned is that cognitive fatigue can result in a subjective perception of hypoxia in some individuals. I'm curious if more training could improve accuracy.

These four were the outliers, but how many took the test and passed? Context is missing.
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"Nocebo" is the name for this phenomenon, and it is DEF not uncommon with all manner of expectations, especially for pharmaceuticals.
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@kwcnasa From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 25
Are we going to have a full version of this ?
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A CAMI chamber test on about 8 pilots, in about 2008, performed a test similar to this. At a pressure altitudes of 19,000 ft. The subjects had to talk with a mock center simulating a set of complex aircraft positioning maneuvers while wearing MBU-12 and MBU-20 masks. The purpose was to see if talking had any effect on SpO2 readings. It did. The drops were quite deep and quite note worthy. The thought that pilots were breathing on a nasal-oral mask in controlled airspace situations it would mitigate hypoxia. The testing showed not so.
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People don't generally have any sensitivity to hypoxia. What they sense for the breathing reflex is accumulation of carbon dioxide.
As long as they can breathe their carbon dioxide away, unless they can recognize their confusion/inability at a known task as their mental acuity suffers, they're not going to recognize it. From personal experience in a hypobaric chamber, a lot of people can't.
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Good thing these tests are initiated. If these mistakes were made on the station, that mistake would be severe
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@nigratruo From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 117
Soooooooooo, you absolutely positively can't tell when you are low on oxygen, that means a human being is unreliably for this diagnosis and an external mechanism that measures blood oxygen must be employed to prevent accidents. What I miss in this video is actually the conclusion that you can't tell yourself when your capacity is reduced, because like shown in this case, stress induced tension can trigger a false positive.
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James is the guy you could count on to do an untethered spacewalk to save the team or the station. Legend.
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@calabrais From YouTube ↗ 21 Jun 2026 95
"Start by subtracting 7 from 1000"

me immediately: EMERGENCY