NASA has once again proven their mastery of the unexpected and unintentional. An interesting thing about this is that an official livestream from the International Space Station (ISS) accidentally broadcasted a medical drill, causing alarm among viewers on social media before it was revealed to be a routine simulation training.

The thing that gets me about this is the lack of transparency and credibility from NASA. Despite hundreds of concerned viewers and voices on social media, they assure us that there is “no emergency situation” and that everything is fine. Because clearly, getting information from Twitter is the most logical and responsible thing to do in a potential crisis.

It’s also worth noting that this whole debacle was part of a routine simulation, where crew members play pretend while floating around in zero gravity. Because what else would they do up there? Play space golf?

But the real kicker is when someone claiming to be a flight surgeon at SpaceX mission control center began shouting unsolicited health advice to the astronauts during the drill. Because apparently, doctors have now added intergalactic travel medicine to their resumes. I’m sure that’s a highly sought-after specialty.

And let’s not forget that this “doctor” was thousands of miles away, yet felt the need to shout instructions at the crew members and even asked them to check the “patient’s” pulse before sealing him back into his suit. Sounds totally legit, right?

But fear not, NASA has cleared up any confusion by clarifying that the test was taking place in California (because apparently they have nothing better to do there) and that everyone is safe and healthy. Except maybe those poor souls who had to endure this cringe-worthy broadcast.

So folks, just remember – if you ever find yourself stranded on the ISS or facing an emergency situation in outer space, just sit tight because help is only 238 miles away. And don’t worry about finding medical professionals nearby, NASA assures us they’ll be shouting helpful advice from thousands of miles away while you float around wondering why you signed up for this madness in the first place.

In conclusion, NASA may be masters of the unexpected, but when it comes to transparency and credibility, they still have some work to do. At least they didn’t go ‘splat.’

I’m grateful this NASA / ISS drill wasn’t a real space emergency. And if this is how they handle routine simulations, I can only imagine what would happen with a real disaster.