As humankind prepares for further exploration of our solar system it is crucial to consider the wide range of potential psychological and physiological effects brought about by long duration spaceflight. This paper reviews efforts to address these effects in three areas: human factors design, physiological health, and psychosocial issues. Human factors design considerations include increasing user-friendliness and earth-like familiarity of space vehicles. Physiological concerns involve physical conditioning and reducing individual stress levels. Psychosocial efforts have traditionally focused on crew selection in addition to coping with the stresses of isolation and confinement. However as the duration of spaceflight missions increases, it is necessary to consider a fourth factor: interpersonal dynamics. Interpersonal dynamics will influence communications, crew compatibility, and coping. The role of group psychology will become especially salient during prolonged confinement during longer missions. This heightened potential for interpersonal problems demands attention, with important implications for crew training and mission design. Furthermore, besides the stresses already faced by current spaceflight crews, crewmembers on longer duration missions will likely encounter reduced communication, increased stress - especially from homesickness - and difficulty maintaining motivation. While some countermeasures have previously been suggested - increased crew autonomy, selection of compatible crews, and training flight crews together to increase cohesiveness - a better understanding of social psychological issues during extended spaceflight is necessary.
Isolation and Confinement Issues in Long Duration Spaceflight
2008-03-01
1090670 byte
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Personal growth following long-duration spaceflight
Online Contents | 2012
|Autonomic Recovery after Long-Duration Spaceflight
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008
|