An official has announced stringent requirements for China’s future astronauts: No bad breath, no scars, and no history of colds or sore throats. From Fox News:
Candidates for China’s manned space program must be cavity-free and have no history of head colds or sore throats. In fact, candidates must show there has been no serious disease in the family going back three generations, Sina.com reported.
“Bad body odor will affect the colleagues in the narrow confines of a space shuttle,” Shi Binbin, a doctor with the 454th Air Force Hospital in the east Chinese city of Nanjing, told AFP.
Preliminary tests are being conducted on potential candidates. A hospital employee at the No. 454 Hospital told China Daily Sunday that 100 fighter pilots with college degrees were among the hopefuls being tested at the hospital, according to Sina.com.
China’s future astronauts must also be scar-free.
“Scars on the body, for example, might burst and bleed when spaceships are accelerating,” Shi told Sina.com.
