Yesterday it was wee, well today the testing phase for the Orion spacecraft, that will take the place of the space shuttle, has taken a more sinister turn.

It appears that for impact tests, human cadavers are being used, according to Spaceref.com.

That’s a bit creepy, and makes you wonder whether, following on from their appeal for urine, NASA will now start asking for even more from their employees.

NB: I am told by Nature‘s resident crash-test-dummy expert that the use of human bodies is standard practice in car tests. I did not know that. And I’m not sure if that makes the new, worse or better.

Picture credit: NASA