Out of this world: can surgery learn from NASA’s approach to leadership and safety culture? (11 November 2025)

Summary

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be familiar to most across the world. Leading highly dangerous and innovative space travel, NASA has gone from a blame culture in the 1960s to an environment that keeps safety at the forefront and a top priority. NASA culture aims to ensure that staff work safely through balancing challenges and risks, feel comfortable communicating safety issue sand learn from both successes and error. This article, published in The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, outlines NASA’s safety journey considers what surgeons can learn from this in seeking to improve both patient safety and culture.