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A comment by Organic Marble on the question Is it possible to get pregnant through natural means in space? includes a link to PREGNANCY TEST (ISS MED/3A - ALL/FIN) which seems to indicate there is a pregnancy test kit on the ISS.

As indicated in the original question mammals do not seem able to get (or stay) pregnant in the ISS.

Why is the test kit there? Has it ever been used? What is the procedure if the results where positive?

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James Jenkins
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    I would guess that even if you can't get pregnant in space, you can always get pregnant on earth and then go to space. Pregnancy tests really only work from about 6 weeks, so this can happen more easily than you'd think – neelsg Mar 27 '15 at 11:04
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    There is also always the Jurassic Park woo around not being able to get pregnant in space that goes something like: Life finds a way... – neelsg Mar 27 '15 at 11:05
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    So far there is only observed evidence that rats seem to have trouble getting pregnant, but so far it has not been tested with humans (at least nobody wants to admit to have joined the 250 mile high club). – Philipp Mar 27 '15 at 22:57
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    Hm. What is the protocol if the test comes back positive? Toss the guilty party back to Earth on the next mission that comes along? – Everyone Mar 28 '15 at 06:42

2 Answers2

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The test kit is there in case a female crewmember suspects that she might be pregnant. Your second question will never be answered because of US medical privacy laws. For the 3rd question, I have not found a documented answer, but I suspect a medical evacuation would be in order, due to the unknown developmental effects on the unborn child. This would result in the return of one three person crew (two of whom, I suspect, would be grumpy).

Organic Marble
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    Related What if any US laws apply on the ISS? – James Jenkins Mar 27 '15 at 15:08
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    I realize that your parenthetical might not be intended to be taken seriously, but are you suggesting that the other members of the crew would not be supportive of the medical evacuation of a crew member for pregnancy? – DQdlM Mar 27 '15 at 16:13
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    There's "supportive" in the sense of "yes, this obviously needs to be done, and we're obviously going to get in the Soyuz and go home early", and there's supportive in the sense of "no, it's no problem at all that after six months of preparation for this mission we're abandoning our experiments and going home." – Russell Borogove Mar 27 '15 at 16:54
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    Years of preparation. – Organic Marble Mar 27 '15 at 16:55
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    @KennyPeanuts: I think the point is that they wouldn't evacuate just one person; they'd have to evacuate all three members of the crew. Even if the one astronaut who needs to be evacuated is qualified to fly and land the Soyuz capsule alone, leaving the station short one Soyuz is probably unacceptable. – Keith Thompson Jul 27 '15 at 17:56
  • Astronauts go through extensive medical tests on ground before launch, so surely they couldn't be pregnant at launch without flight controllers knowing about it? – ACarter Jan 31 '16 at 16:55
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    @ACarter Medical testing is not a perfect science. Sometimes it behaves quite well, but sometimes its an art. I expect mission parameters are chosen to intentionally ensure the tests occur during a timeframe where they are highly accurate, but nothing's perfect. Consider the cost of hauling the test kit up there (fuel costs and all) vs. the spectacular PR nightmare of a child born with defects due to an astronaut's time in space, and that pee stick starts to look like an excellent and frugal expenditure of government resources. – Cort Ammon Feb 01 '16 at 20:05
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    They stay at the ISS long enough to launch not-pregnant and return pregnant. In theory of course. – Organic Marble Feb 02 '16 at 00:48
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    When diagnosing some sets of symptoms or complains, a pregnancy test may be indicated. The test is there simply because who would want to deny it to the physician on the ground trying to make a diagnosis? It't not like it's very heavy. – uhoh Aug 30 '16 at 14:37
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    Keep in mind that Space Adaptation Syndrome can resemble morning sickness. Given a female astronaut experiencing nausea and fatigue, having a simple test to rule out (or confirm) pregnancy would be invaluable. – Kengineer Aug 30 '16 at 19:57
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    It might be too speculative, but depending on the stage of pregnancy, the female astronaut could decide to have an abortion once on Earth, and continue the mission despite it. – Quora Feans Feb 14 '20 at 00:24
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    @QuoraFeans you are right. Whichever way it went It would be an extremely complicated situation behind the scenes and we the public would probably never know anything about it other than "The crew had to return because of a private medical condition." if that even happened. – Organic Marble Feb 14 '20 at 00:30
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A pregnancy test is essential in working up abdominal pain in a woman of child bearing age. An ectopic pregnancy (implantation in the Fallopian tube or elsewhere) is potentially fatal without emergency surgery.

I consider pregnancy testing as essential diagnostic capability on ISS. A positive test in the presence of abdominal pain would necessitate emergency medical evacuation.

Woody
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  • ADUM (Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity) experiments were performed on ISS in 2004 during expeditions 9 and 10. Ultrasound being one of the tools used to check for ectopic pregnancy. I have not heard if anything has been done since then with ultrasound on ISS. I also don't know if any experimental attempts to do any type of lab work on blood has been done on ISS. Seems like both capabilities will eventually be needed for long term stays in space to support telemedicine. – Steve Pemberton Nov 09 '23 at 13:51
  • @StevePemberton ... Ultrasound and blood work would both enhance diagnosis in space. But a urine HCG pregnancy test gives vastly more diagnostic power for its mass. A negative ultrasound would not rule out an ectopic pregnancy. 5% of ectopics are not in the fallopian tube and can be hard to localize and interpret, even for experienced operators. So abdominal pain with a +ve pregnancy test and a -ve ultrasound still needs evacuation – Woody Nov 09 '23 at 14:33
  • @StevePemberton ... On the other hand, if the ultrasound can localize the pregnancy to the uterus, an ectopic pregnancy can be (almost) ruled out and unnecessary evacuation prevented. – Woody Nov 09 '23 at 14:33
  • Woody - that's what I was assuming and why I mentioned the possibility of ultrasound on ISS. But I'm guessing if ultrasound doesn't show anything they would need other means of diagnosing, which may or may not currently be possible on orbit. Or maybe technically possible but not implemented on ISS since they are able to do relatively quick medical evacuations if needed. And not always "emergency" like in a few hours or days, but in less urgent cases by shortening an increment to get the crewmember home sooner than originally scheduled while avoiding an extended gap before the next crew arrives – Steve Pemberton Nov 09 '23 at 15:42