Psychology of Space Exploration

From Earth Analogs to Space: Getting There from Here

station habitats are capsule habitats, sharing the controlled, defined enclosure of the
laboratory situated within an extreme unusual environment (EUE).^42 Characterized
by a controlled, highly technological habitat that provides protection and life sup-
port from an environment that is harsh, dangerous, and life-threatening, capsule
habitats occupy a wide range of environments. Some are true operational bases with
missions in which biobehavioral research is only secondary. Others run the gamut
from fundamental “tuna can” habitats with spartan support capabilities situated in
locations of varying access to a full-fidelity Antarctic base constructed solely for the
purposes of biobehavioral space analog research.

Submersible Habitats

Due to their high military relevance, the best-studied of capsule habitats are sub-
marines. As an analog for space, submarines share a number of common characteristics:
pressurization concerns (hyperpressurization for submarines and loss of pressurization for
space), catastrophic outcomes for loss of power (e.g., the inability to return to the sur-
face for submarines and degraded orbits for space), dependence on atmosphere revital-
ization and decontamination, radiation effects, and severe space restrictions. Prenuclear
submarine environments were limited in the duration of submersions (72 hours), crew
size (9 officers and 64 enlisted men), and deployment periods without restocking of fuel
and supplies. Structurally, these short-duration mission parameters mimicked those of
the early years of space, albeit with vastly larger crews. With the launch of the nuclear-
powered Nautilus in 1954, the verisimilitude of the submersible environment as an
analog for long-duration space missions was vastly improved. With the nuclear subma-
rine, mission durations were extended to 60 to 90 days, crews were increased to 16 offi-
cers and 148 enlisted men, and resupply could be delayed for months.^43 Generalizing
from submarine research to space regarding psychological and human factors related to
adjustment and well-being, researchers have identified several salient issues:

42. Suedfeld and Steel, “The Environmental Psychology of Capsule Habitats”: 227.


43. B. B. Weybrew, “Three Decades of Nuclear Submarine Research: Implications for Space
    and Antarctic Research,” in From Antarctica to Outer Space: Life in Isolation and Confinement,
    ed. Harrison, Clearwater, and McKay, p. 103.