The Intense and Untested Social Stress of Outer Space Missions

One of the most important aspects of a human’s well-being is their mental health. Our mind is molded and maintained by our interactions with others and our environment. New experiences keep our mind sharp for everyday tasks. As an astronaut, however, there is not much along the lines of new experiences. Severing the connection between a human and the rest of their planet has a profound effect on their mental and emotional well-being and must be continuously analyzed and aided to ensure that the mission goes according to plan.

Kanas et al. describe the mental journey of an astronaut in three parts: anxiety due to the novelty and gravity of the mission, depression and boredom during the majority of the mission, and “immature behavior” and excitement to return home at the end (Kanas et al. 2000). In fact, the midway point of a mission usually has the most profound negative effect on the astronaut as they only then realize how long they will spend away from Earth (Kanas et al. 2009). This depression has the potential to cripple an astronaut to the point where they would be able to perform tasks in an emergency situation (Kanas et al. 2009).

Russian psychologists have defined a mental illness called asthenia – characterized by irritability, insomnia, lack of appetite, and fatigue – to properly detail the mental conditions many astronauts suffer through (Kanas et al. 2000). This illness is not yet recognized by the United States, but the issues of international space efforts only start there. The need for a undeniably cohesive team of astronauts is paramount to the success of any mission. Any international team, as will inevitably come about in the future, must not only speak the same language, but recognize the customs and habits of the others. Different cultures create different politics, manners, and expressions of emotions just to name a few differences. These differences are so intrinsic to the people experiencing them that “depressed mood may be more likely to co-occur with anxiety among Americans but with fatigue among Russians” (Kanas et al. 2009). With the possibility of a Mars mission lasting several years, the different cultures would not only need to respect each other, it seems that they would almost need to fuse together.

With radio communication times between Earth and Mars reaching 22 minutes, the crew needs to be fully autonomous (Kanas et al. 2009). While there may initially be a leader or a cohesive group, it is an almost insurmountable challenge for this group to survive all the social stressors of isolation. Different nationalities may form different groups and discriminate against each other, leaders can be challenged to no end, and harmless interactions may be misinterpreted due to cultural differences (Kanas et al. 2000, 2009). The monotony of this social hierarchy is likely to lead to its collapse (Palinkas 2007).

Mars is our by far our closest cosmic neighbor – if we cannot figure out a solution on how to create functional social groups here, we will likely never be able to travel to any other celestial body. Even this close the the Earth, our planet appears as a tiny speck in the sky as a constant reminder of how isolated the are from their friends and family. Interplanetary astronauts will not have access to any of the cushy accommodations (such as real-time contact with Earth) of orbiting vessels such as the ISS (Kanas et al. 2000).

Figure 1: The Earth and Moon as seen from Mars, taken by the Curiosity Rover

Not much data exists as a guideline on how astronauts should be trained for such long-term missions. We are not even sure if our training regiments for current short-term missions are sufficient in any way for a mission to Mars. Multiple sources recommend an intense, isolated team experience in extreme locations such as Antarctica, where residents suffer from many of the same mental stressors as astronauts would (Palinkas 2003, 2007; Kanas et al. 2008, 2009). Intense training over several months with the crew and ground control would be needed to form a bond which would certainly be tested in the depths of space.

If the social structure of these initial missions work out and humanity is able to spread its wings out into the solar system, the social stress of exploring space will only decrease as it becomes more accessible for the general population. Once a sizable and functional population of humans is established on Mars, a new society will be born.

References

Palinkas LA. 2007. Psychosocial issues in long-term space flight overview 25:33

Kanas N, Sandal G, Boyd JE, Gushin VI, Manzay D, North R, Leon GR, Suedfeld P, Bishop S, Fiedler ER, Inoue N, Johannes B, Kealey DJ, Kraft N, Matsuzaki I, Musson D, Palinkas LA, Salnitskiy VP, Sipes W, Stuster J, Wang J. 2009. Psychology and culture during long-duration space missions 659:677

Kanas N, Salnitskiy VP, Grund EM, Gushin V, Weiss DS, Kozerenko O, Sled A, Marmar CR. 2000. Social and cultural issues during Shuttle/Mir space missions 647:655

Kanas N, Manzey D. 2008. Space psychology and psychiatry 1:12

Palinkas LA. 2003. The psychology of isolated and confined environments: Understanding human behavior in Antarctica. Abstract