"How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

Palomar · 2004-05-19 18:59:42

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 2004]Click

*Australian National University in on this study. MS members volunteering for the Aussie desert, "and attempt to mimic some of the conditions experienced by long-duration space travelers."

ANU psychologists will watch group dynamics, possible splits into subgroups and the dynamics involved therein, etc.

They mention that "cohesive groups" work and perform better, and are more cooperative than loosely-knit groups.

I'd not seen this web site before (universetoday.com). This ties in really neatly with a thread I was planning to start anyway, questioning Dr. Z's assertion in _The Case for Mars_ that people *can* be cooped up in a tin can for 6 months straight (just the flight time to and from Mars alone, each way) without someone going "off" because of his father's (?) WWII experience of a very distressful situation (can't recall the specifics of that and I don't have my copy of the book handy), etc.

Well, it's one thing to be *thrown into* a stressful situation ala unforeseen circumstances...it's another to willingly place yourself into one. :-\

Will definitely follow this story.

--Cindy

Euler · 2004-05-19 21:07:55

I can think of a lot of cases where people have gone through stressful situations and not gone crazy. Can you think of any examples where the people have gone crazy?

Palomar · 2004-05-19 21:25:05

I can think of a lot of cases where people have gone through stressful situations and not gone crazy. Can you think of any examples where the people have gone crazy?

*Yes, I've heard of situations (particularly war-related, etc.). Sorry I cannot give a *precise* example (location, name of person involved, date).

And sorry, I didn't mean to imply anyone -would- go crazy. Hey, these are professionals doing the study after all. :-\

Is "losing it" completely impossible under duress? No.

--Cindy

dicktice · 2004-05-20 13:47:51

To repeat myself from a previous post: Individual gardening, part-time during the voyage, would provide time consuming, hands-on, stimulating occupation for the mind and emotions, at least in my case. Helping those little shoots sort themselves out in microgravity, and reaping the resulting edible "pets," in the form of tomatoes, spuds and onions, etc., would not only be soothing, but entertaining--when the videos from Earth begin to pall.

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-05-20 15:34:07

I know this happened on the older Russian space stations, in one incident the crew were in space for a long time, over worked and full of stress. A number of cosmonauts had a big fight and ground control in Moscow got an earful, the crew ended up shutting down their communications and causing a signal blackout for a couple of weeks. You can get lots of informations about this event, but its something which the Russian government doesn't want to talk about.

:rant:

With their decades of experience, Russian space docs also lead the field in recognizing psychological asthenia and stresses. During Norm Thagard’s stay on Mir, Russian Flight Surgeons identified the danger of too little work (most of the American experiments were ruined early on) before the Americans, and suggested ways of integrating Dr. Thagard into the daily routine. The Russian psychologists felt Jerry Linenger was not suited for long-duration spaceflight, and it was they who first recognized his lack of communication as a sign of withdrawal.
Like the American astronauts, Russian cosmonauts have weekly private conference with their families, and weekly Medical conferences with their Flight Surgeons. In addition, cosmonauts and astronauts alike have an allowance by weight of personal effects to bring with them; books, tapes and videos are very popular (movie night is a popular pastime on Mir). Both Mir and the Shuttle Orbiter carry ham radios, for quick informal conversations with ham operators. Exercise is a popular stress-reliever, and astronauts and cosmonauts alike often get irritable if overtasking deprives them of their daily run. And in a liberty that American controllers look at askance, cosmonauts are allowed to bring small amounts of vodka aboard.
Clearly, despite the paucity of media coverage and hard scientific data, psychological countermeasures play a considerable role in maintaining crew health, and can be expected to gain prominence as stays on ISS lengthen and piloted Mars missions draw closer.

:hm:

srmeaney · 2005-03-27 00:47:15

Such deep space voyagers had better take up Poetry writing & Story Writing, Not just on Computer either. But rather in paper books with Graphite writing sticks. It doesnt Matter if that book is two hundred pages of "I will not space the MC when he is next alone in the Airlock". Ok that one probably will matter, especially if the MC starts violating privacy.
If you want zero stress on such a long trip, realize, there may infact be no room for hierarchy. People will have to take personal responsibility for their own actions.

Palomar · 2005-03-27 08:09:32

*Wow...I forgot all about this thread.

SPacE mADNesS!!!!

{{{{AaaauuAAaauuGHHHHH!}}}} :bars3:

:rant: SPAAAAAACE MAAAAADNESSS!!!!!!

Just kidding. :laugh: End of a *very* long work week.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-03-28 11:08:07

When stressed by over work one can easily snap but given free time one must have hobbies to fill the void of doing nothing. Mine is music, Drawing, and just puttering around in general.

srmeaney · 2005-04-02 07:01:30

At least you have a job. I've spent the last ten years blacklisted by people who suplement their buisness incomes with the growing and selling of illegal narcotics only to find the newly elected Government in the Territory I was born in is requiring a licence for the right to fish for your own food and is keeping files on people who criticise the political party of which they are members.
And to top that off, The Dam from which we get water and the agricultural belt from which we get our food is sitting on rock containing fourty percent of the world's Uranium. It's in the Food, water and soil. It explains why those people who don't eat the expensive imported foods from interstate are dying in their thirties, fourties, and fifties from cancers (this includes the entire Aboriginal Population who pretty much live rural and are dependent on the local food chain). It also explained why they restricted geiger counters to Government Personell only.

If I wasn't an ethical person, I would be on a killing spree about now.

dicktice · 2005-04-02 19:09:23

Space gardening, blast it! Why doesn't anybody respond to my recommendation, to preven space madness? You're driving me crazy!

srmeaney · 2005-04-02 23:11:03

Considering gardening is a job in the department of food production, is it realy an option for stress relief?

dicktice · 2005-04-03 09:52:45

Yes, nurturing growing things in space (you'll understand if you have any experience at all with plants) ... watching them grow, guiding their roots and shoots in the right directions, sharing their oxygen and your carbon dioxide, as they change day after day ... is bound to have a calming effect, and a relief from your official crew responsibilities, canned and/or time-delayed entertainments, and an excape from the social incompatiblities that confinement on a month's long space voyage out of sight of tangibles, is bound to cause.

srmeaney · 2005-04-03 10:14:11

Yes, I am aware of plants and the psychological joy of making things grow. 1/2 Year of Ag studies and 25 years of personal gardening. My point is that in a situation where Agriculture becomes a job rather than a hobby, where do you go to escape the pressures of work? Would you go to spend time with the crew as a way to unwind from the isolation of not having experienced human contact for 12 hours?

Even on a space ship, ther are two types of people. Those forced to spend time with others and those forced to spend time apart from others. Which one is the one most likely to experience psychological problems?

C M Edwards · 2005-05-09 15:41:24

Perhaps we should rethink the "Give them something to do" method of keeping the crew happy. Aside from the fact that busy work is seldom inspiring, recent research suggests that work of any type , whether it's a despised chore or a favorite hobby, will not promote group morale by itself. The interaction with the crew during work (and degree of engagement with the crew) is more important, as is the function and meaning ascribed to the work.

If the interpersonal interaction is good, cutting out paper dolls with scissors is just as effective as animal husbandry. If the work is seen as sufficiently interesting, stimulating and meaningful, mucking out stables is just as effective as surveying the surface of an unknown world. Continuously pleasurable activities are NOT necessarily good for group morale, and can destroy group cohesion if everyone's standard method for unwinding becomes a retreat to their cabin or workstation

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-04-19 07:28:59

In October, NASA holoported NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid onto the International Space Station while he was safely planted on our planet. No rockets necessary.

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#1 2004-05-19 18:59:42

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#2 2004-05-19 21:07:55

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#3 2004-05-19 21:25:05

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#4 2004-05-20 13:47:51

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#5 2004-05-20 15:34:07

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#6 2005-03-27 00:47:15

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#7 2005-03-27 08:09:32

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#8 2005-03-28 11:08:07

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#9 2005-04-02 07:01:30

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#10 2005-04-02 19:09:23

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#11 2005-04-02 23:11:03

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#12 2005-04-03 09:52:45

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#13 2005-04-03 10:14:11

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#14 2005-05-09 15:41:24

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

#15 2022-04-19 07:28:59

Re: "How to Avoid Space Madness" - -- Mars Society Australia

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