NASA has acknowledged that audio widely circulated on social media depicting astronauts in distress was mistakenly broadcast on its YouTube channel. The clip, originally intended for training purposes, featured a voice stating that an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had a "tenuous" chance of survival.

The broadcast on Wednesday evening triggered online speculation about a potential emergency in space, though NASA swiftly clarified that all ISS crew members were safe. According to NASA, the audio was inadvertently routed from an ongoing simulation used by crew members and ground teams to practice various space scenarios, emphasizing that it did not correspond to an actual emergency.

Private aerospace company SpaceX also reassured the public via social media that there was no emergency onboard the ISS. The incident occurred at 23:28 BST and led some to mistakenly believe a real astronaut was experiencing decompression sickness in space.

The authenticity of the audio shared online was not independently verified by NASA, although they confirmed its accidental release. Decompression sickness, colloquially known as "the bends," is typically associated with scuba diving and involves nitrogen bubbles forming in the body due to changes in external pressure. Astronauts undergo specific protocols to mitigate this risk during space missions.

NASA noted that the ISS crew members were asleep during the broadcast in preparation for a scheduled spacewalk at 1300 BST on Thursday, which is proceeding as planned.