NASA astronaut's distress message was aired in error.
NASA has revealed that the audio of astronauts in distress that was extensively circulated on social media was really a simulation broadcast on its YouTube channel in error.
In the footage, which was designed for training reasons, a voice stated that an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) had a "tenuous" chance of survival.
The clip's release on Wednesday evening fuelled online anxiety about a possible space emergency, but NASA confirmed that all ISS crew members are safe.
"This audio was inadvertently misrouted from an ongoing simulation where crew members and ground teams train for various scenarios in space and is not related to a real emergency," according to the ISS X website.
Private company SpaceX also took to social media to announce there was no issue aboard the ISS.
The episode, which occurred at 23:28 BST, caused some to fear that a real astronaut was experiencing decompression sickness in space.
It was made much more credible since, unlike phony audio, which normally comes first from untrustworthy sources, this was broadcast on an official Nasa channel.
In the audio released on social media, a person requests that the ISS crew assist an astronaut in putting on his spacesuit, checking his pulse, and providing him with oxygen.
Although Nasa verified that the audio was disseminated in error, it did not independently verify that the recordings uploaded online were the same as those broadcast.
Decompression sickness, popularly known as "the bends," is a disorder commonly associated with scuba diving in which bubbles form inside the body owing to a shift in external pressure.
To avoid this happening in space, astronauts follow methods for removing nitrogen from their bodies.
According to NASA, the crew members on the ISS were sleeping at the time the audio was aired, preparing for a spacewalk at 1300 BST on Thursday. It claims this will go on as planned.
