From Danielle Young, Tollesbury, Essex, UK
Leah Crane reports that a fatality rate of 1 in 270 is the maximum tolerated by NASA for space missions (13 January, p 20). Later, she compares aspiring space travellers to climbers willing to risk death during a bid to reach the summit of Everest. According to a study on climber deaths from 1921 to 2006, the fatality rate on Everest is around 1 in 67 (BMJ, doi.org/fpbwd2). By this metric, the (fool)hardy climbers are four times as daring as prospective astronauts are.
