Chinese doctors have revealed the existence of a 100 item check-list to gauge a future would-be astronaut’s health.
Some of the items include:
- No scars
- No history of serious illness in the last three generations of your family
- No tooth cavities (this is tough enough in North America, not sure how often most Chinese see dentists)
- Runny noses
- Ringworms
- Drug allergies
- Bad breath
“The bad smell would affect their fellow colleagues in a narrow space,” said Shi Bingbing, an official with the 454th hospital of People’s Liberation Army air force based in Nanjing, one of the six astronaut health screening hospitals.
Aside from the physical requirements of the job, the candidate must also possess a pleasant and adaptable disposition, the paper said.
“These astronauts could be regarded as super human beings,” Shi said.
China sent its first man to space in September last year. Zhai Zhigang, the son of a snack-seller, unveiled a small Chinese flag in space, helped by colleague Liu Boming, who also briefly popped his head out of the capsule.
The space walk was a step towards China’s longer-term goal of assembling a space lab and then a larger space station.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-08/01/content_8504696.htm
