PHOTOS: ESA/IPEV/PNRA/B HEALEY, NASAspace mission? The report recommended more
research into how diet and nutrition can affect
these circadian rhythms, and whether the timing
of meals, for example, might help solve the problem.
One of the best ways of studying psychological
effects is in similarly isolated situations back on
Earth. Dr Beth Healey has spent more than a year
on the Concordia Station in the icy depths of
Antarctica, as the ESA’s research doctor. During
a polar winter, you don’t see sunshine for three
months, and no evacuation is possible even
in an emergency – in this sense, the Concordia
scientists are more isolated than ISS astronauts.
In one of Healey’s experiments, she got the crew
to wear trackers. These monitored how mobile
each person was, and who they interacted with.
“This provided valuable information regarding
how group dynamics changed over time and could
identify critical time points in the mission where
crew members may be more likely to isolate
themselves or seek out social interaction, or
when conflicts were most likely to occur,” she says.
Healey also worked on developing a 10-part
cognition test, which is now likely to be adopted
into the astronauts’ routines aboard the ISS.
“The test looks at lots of different variables,
for example risk-taking behaviour, reaction times,
memory testing, and so on. The astronauts would
take this regularly, and any dip in performance
would prompt mission control to investigate,”
she explains.ABOVE
The team at
Antarctica’s
Concordia
Station are
more isolated
during winter
than ISS
astronauts
FACING
RIGHT TOP
ISS astronauts
rely on
deliveries of
fresh food to top
up their
supplies, but
this wouldn’t
be feasible on
a Mars or Moon
base
RIGHT BELOW
From left to
right, radishes
grown in Moon
soil substitute,
Mars soil
substitute, and
Earth soil[ PSYCHOLOGY ]
Long-duration space travel can take a heavy toll on your mental
well-being. ISS astronauts often report problems with insomnia
and loss of appetite, and it can be hard to find any privacy in
the confines of the craft. Crews also have to be carefully selected
to make sure that every member is easygoing – there is the
constant threat of something going wrong, and you can’t risk
astronauts irritating each other too much. It’s not like you can
diffuse an argument by avoiding each other or stepping outside
for some air! You have to spend months on end with the same
people, isolated from all your loved ones at home.
At least from the ISS, you can still enjoy the view of the Earth
below – on a mission to Mars, the feeling of remoteness will be
even stronger. And the signal delay time of up to 40 minutes will
mean that you’ll not even be able to talk to anyone on Earth –
all contact will be by email or video message.
These psychological issues are tricky to detect early on, and,
when you’re investigating the effects on group cohesion, it’s hard
to think of scientific ways to measure the outcome. While medical
tests might be able to reveal the physiological effects of spaceflight
on your body, people might be less inclined to self-report on
psychological stresses or problems they are encountering.
NASA has been paying particular attention to these psychological
effects. In a 2016 report on human health risks, they highlighted
several areas needing further study. These include the effects of
long-term disruption to sleeping patterns and ‘circadian rhythm
desynchronisation’. This is when your body’s internal cycles of
temperature regulation, metabolic activity, and wakefulness,
for example, are forced out of rhythm with each other – you’re
probably familiar with this from jet-lag. But what are the effects of
experiencing desynchronisation for months or years of a lengthySpace
Science
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