Psychology of Space Exploration
The salutogenic aspects of space are also reflected in the study of self-initiated
photography during leisure time in space and the larger number of photos taken as the
mission progressed, described in chapter 4 by Julie Robinson and colleagues. Many
astronauts have commented on the awesome, existential phenomenon of viewing
Earth from space, and it is the primary leisure-time activity. The perhaps “hard-wired”
pleasure of communing with nature and the feeling of spirituality that is often a part
of this activity seem to form an important positive component of life in space; they
are also a means of coping with negative aspects of space missions. For example,
Russian cosmonauts have commented on the pleasure they experienced on space
missions by growing plants, watering and tending to them and watching the plants
thrive. A challenge for future long-duration missions to distant planets where Earth
and home will no longer be in view is to plan for other methods of viewing the cos-
mos and opportunities for leisure photography during planetary exploration.
While the transformation of values may be regarded as a constructive coping
mechanism, these changes might also carry potential hazardous aspects. During a
future expedition to Mars or beyond, a partial or complete loss of commitment to
the usual (earthbound) system of values and behavioral norms could result that,
in extreme cases, might involve unforeseeable risks in terms of individual behav-
ior, performance of mission tasks, and interpersonal interactions within the crew.
This might make any external control and guidance of the crew extremely diffi-
cult. Experiences from some military combat units indicate that microcultures that
develop in isolated groups can diverge profoundly in values and behaviors from
societal norms (e.g., the groupthink phenomenon). An open-minded investigation
might be necessary to understand group processes that are likely to occur in con-
fined, isolated, and autonomous crews.
Any breakdown of communication, cooperation, and cohesiveness of a space
crew must be considered as an important limiting factor to mission success and
safety. One concern raised by several of the authors in this volume is that impair-
ments of crew interactions and operations might be induced by cultural and gender
differences. With long-duration missions, one would anticipate changes and fluctu-
ations in interpersonal as well as task cohesion over time and the possible influence
of factors such as gender and culture on these relationships. Chapter 6, by Jason
Kring and Megan Kaminski, addresses the issue of gender composition and crew
cohesion, also examining unidimensional and multidimensional conceptions and
types of cohesion, for example, interpersonal versus task cohesion. While there is a