Introduction: Psychology and the U.S. Space ProgramIn the final chapter of this book, Gro Sandal and Gloria Leon present a sum-
mary and integration that places the earlier chapters within broader historical, cul-
tural, and organizational contexts. They point out that whereas we can point with
pride to past accomplishments, missions will continue to change and there will
always be a need for more research and new operational procedures. The research
that is done—and, perhaps more importantly, that is not done—reflects political as
well as scientific and operational concerns. Many of psychology’s advances within
the American program are recent, and it is not clear if these gains will withstand
the test of time. However, sponsors of other programs, such as the European Space
Agency (ESA), understand that psychology is one of the many disciplines required
to ensure successful spaceflight.
We conclude our introduction with three important caveats. First, although
most of the chapters in this book are authored or coauthored by psychologists
and make repeated references to psychology, understanding and managing human
behavior in space is an interdisciplinary effort. In essence, “spaceflight psychology”
includes contributions from architecture and design, engineering, biology, medi-
cine, anthropology, sociology, communications, and organizational studies, as well
as many hybrids (such as cognitive science) and disciplines within psychology (such
as environmental, social, and clinical). In a similar vein, the delivery of psycho-
logical services to astronauts involves physicians, psychiatrists, social workers, and
peers, as well as psychologists.
Second, no one pretends that the chapters in this volume are representative
of psychology (never mind the broader field of behavioral science) as a whole.
Our essays do not provide in-depth treatment of the interface between engineer-
ing and psychology, nor do they attend to the interface of biology and behavior, for
example, the effects of cumulative fatigue and circadian rhythms on performance
and risk. With respect to this, we note a recent chapter by Barbara Woolford and
Frances Mount that described how, over the past 40 years, research on anthro-
pometrics, biomechanics, architecture, and other ergonomics issues slowly shifted
from surviving and functioning in microgravity to designing space vehicles and
habitats to produce the greatest returns for human knowledge.^33
- Barbara Woolford and Frances Mount, “Human Space Flight,” in Handbook of Human
Factors and Ergonomics, ed. Gavriel Salvendi, 3rd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons,
2006), pp. 929–955.