Mistakes caused by stress and exhaustion can be dangerous anywhere, but nowhere are the risks greater than in the unforgiving environment of space.Cosmonaut fatigue is thought to have played a crucial role in the 1997 collision between the Mir space station and a Soviet supply ship during a routine docking manoeuvre. Recent controversies over alcohol use among NASA astronauts and the case of Lisa Nowak, who was charged with attempted murder in February, have brought the issue of stress in space to the fore.
