Researching the effects of simulated space habitats on crews under controlled and isolated conditions

Current international roadmaps for human space exploration envision a month-long crew sojourn on the moon over the next few decades, with manned missions to Mars as the long-term goal. The psychological effects of manned spaceflight, especially in terms of isolation and confinement, should be explored prior to manned deep space missions.

In order for astronauts to not only survive, but also thrive in alien environments, practice is needed. The practice includes operations on the ISS, but the ISS cannot simulate all aspects of a lunar or Mars mission, such as operations on the surface or long periods without sunlight. Therefore, research is being conducted under controlled and isolated conditions within simulated space habitats, to understand the effects of such conditions on the subjects and their impact on the well-being and success of the crew.

Similarly, an analog environment cannot fully replicate that of the Moon or Mars, but a variety of analog environments that simulate different aspects of the alien environment can be used in combination to prepare for future missions. In a review paper recently published in Space: Science & Technology, Matej Poliaček, a professional and independent researcher in the aerospace industry, discussed the experiments conducted during two separate 15-day missions at the LunAres research base in Piła, Poland, and introduced the background, methodology, results and conclusions.

First of all, the author introduced material and methods, presenting the LunAres Habitat, its location and the two different missions. The habitat was completely isolated from the external environment – the complete isolation from the outside world, including the lack of windows and thus complete absence of access to daylight, made it possible to investigate the effects of complete isolation on the crew, as well as experiments related to to circadian rhythm in humans.

The habitat consisted of a domed living area, to which several modules were attached. Two analog missions, ARES-III and LEARN, were conducted in the LunAres Habitat in the summer of 2018, each for a duration of 2 weeks. Missions were conducted on Moon/Mars time, meaning the crew is out of sync with the remote mission control crew, which was stationed outside the habitat and continued to operate on Earth.

The mission control crew (MCC) was responsible for coordinating the mission from the outside and day-to-day communication with the crew, just like real manned missions. ARES-III was a Mars simulation mission, with a crew of six. As a Mars analog, the crew had a 20-minute delay in communicating with mission control.

The primary communication method was text communication and in some cases voice communication was used for updates. The ARES-III crew was limited to eating only freeze-dried food at lunch and dinner. The LEARN mission was carried out by five crew members.

Since there was only a 1.3 second communication time delay between the Earth and the Moon, communication between the crew and MCC was conducted through video and voice methods, as well as through text. The LEARN analog astronaut crew was also limited to eating only freeze-dried (freeze-dried) food for the entire duration of the mission.

After that, the author presented all the experiments led by the two crews, including research and non-research activities. This part was divided into three sub-parts, the first concerned the joint activities that the two crews had in common. Using the same methodology, both collected cognitive function, environmental, physiological, and inventory data, resulting in a larger data set that allowed for comparisons between the two missions in terms of different human factors.

The joint activities consisted of stress and cognition in isolation experiments, aimed at investigating and monitoring stress responses (cortisol and oxidative stress) and cognitive performance in different cognitive domains (general, spatial and non-spatial) during isolation.

Food consumption, exercise, medical monitoring, daily reporting, and various non-research activities also generated a larger data set for future research.

The second dataset related to the mission activities of ARES-III. Experiments include the following: effects of consuming freeze-dried food on oral health and saliva production, influence of insulation on hearing ability, feelings on safety in the isolated habitat, and studies of earthworm growth in different soil compositions.

The main goal of this analogous mission was to conduct neuropsychological research on the effects of isolation and confinement living and to study a resource-poor environment on stress responses, group dynamics, circadian rhythm, cognition, and microbiota. As with most analog missions (as in the Mars Desert Research Station), the main experiment is the observation of crew dynamics.

In addition, the Mars mission analyzed physical performance of the crew and compared it to performance achieved during similar activities in Mars Research Desert Station missions and the impact of confinement on their efficiency when conducting remote operation of a rover. The third is the LEARN mission activities.

As with ARES-III, the objectives were to conduct neuropsychological research and to study the effect of a resource-poor environment. In addition, the mission included studies of the influence of freeze-dried food on crew oral health, sense of security in isolation, and various biology-oriented experiments.

Finally, a short discussion and conclusion was given on the corresponding challenges of the missions.

The above isolation conditions, experiments, and activities showed that a great deal of work was being done to answer the biggest questions for future human exploration: how did isolation, truncated space, busy schedules, unique members and personalities share their own social, cultural and emotional backgrounds? could affect the mission and health of the astronaut?

There were several questions about what type of crew could be considered ideal: was it a single-sex crew? Did the crew members come from different cultures and origins? Should their backgrounds be similar, or should they cover the widest range of skills possible? Do they all have to be about the same age?

Analog astronauts were the guinea pigs of these questions. While the author did not directly answer the above questions, it was an example of how things were conducted and then new more detailed studies were proposed to take action to resolve these issues.

Provided by Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd