Here to Stay: Designing for Psychological Well-Being for Long Duration Stays on Moon and Mars

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Here to Stay Designing for Psychological
Well-Being for Long Duration Stays on Moon and
Mars

• Sheryl L. Bishop, PhD

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Key Factors

1. Reliance on technology
2. Physical/social isolation confinement
3. High risk cost of failure
4. High physiological, psychological, psychosocial
   cognitive demands
5. Need for human-human, human-technology
   human-environmental interfaces
6. Need for team coordination, cooperation
   communication

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Key Questions

1. What are the effects?
2. Do they impair functioning?
3. Are they self-limiting or progressive?
4. Are they reversible and when?
5. What are the countermeasures?

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Research Areas

• Individual Characteristics
• Personality
• Hardiness
• Stress/Coping
• Leadership Style
• Interpersonal Orientation
• Performance
• Group Characteristics
• Group Dynamics (relationships, conflict,
  cooperation, compatibility)
• Group Composition (Gender, Skills, Nationality)
• Group Performance
• Group Identity
• Group Fission and Fusion Factors

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Key Concepts

• Impact of isolation and confinement
  underestimated
• Group/social interaction and well being in
  isolated, confined environments have
  commonalities. Allows extrapolation from analogs
  (polar bases, submarines, closed chambers) to
  spaceflight

US Reported Problems Mir Space Subs Polar
Sims Interper. conflict x x x x x Somatic
Complts x x x x x Sleep Disturbance x x
x x Boredom, restless x x x
x x Decrements in perf x x x x x
Decline in group compatibility x x x x
x Substance abuse - - ? x -
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Summary Across Expeditions
  Cave Divers   Antarctica  Australia Polar Expeditions Simulations
RESULTS
Mixed Gendered, Inter-national Males Only, Monoculture Mixed Gendered, Inter-national Males Only, Monoculture Mixed Gendered, Monoculture
/- Personality X X X X X
Mismatches b/w stress  - X X X -
Differential Group Morale X  X X X X
Performance decrements X  X X X X
Duration 6 w 11 m 10 d 2-4 w 2-4 w
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Behavioral Health Design

• Since 1980s, 14 behavioral issues with design
  implications have been repeatedly identified as
  critical issues related to space
• Sleep
• Personal Hygiene
• Clothing
• Exercise
• Leisure activities
• Medical support
• Food
• Group interaction
• Habitat aesthetics
• Outside communication
• Privacy and personal space
• Waste disposal and management
• Onboard training, simulation and task preparation
• Behavioral issues related to microgravity
  environments

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Habitat esthetics and well being

• Structural layout and habitat design can address
  behavioral issues
• Maximize habitable volume with configurations
  that are perceived as more spacious.
• Utilize multiple compartments for variety and
  segregated use.
• Use color lighting to enhance desirable moods,
  reduce feelings of crowding physiological
  normality (e.g., entrain sleep cycles)
• Use methodologies to counter feelings of
  confinement and monotony, provide visual depth.
• Multiple uses of plant production spaces food
  production, leisure activities, stress reduction,
  crafts, gardening, small group interaction,
  exposure to full spectrum lighting, natural
  fractals.

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Group Interaction

• Group Fusion social bonding, group
  identification, social support
• Group Fission tension, conflict, discord, social
  isolation, scapegoating, miscommunication.

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Privacy and Personal Space

• Separation of private functions from public is
  critical
• Need flexible, definable redefinable interior
  environments
• meet needs for solitude, privacy
• limit social interaction individual control
  over amount of contact with others
• provides for group as well as individual activity
• moderates feelings of crowding, confinement
• allows for individual personalization (e.g.,
  decoration) and individual differences

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Sleep

• Closed loop environments are inherently noisy due
  to dependency on life support and result in
  significant impacts to sleep.
• Countermeasures
• Use of phase shifting to reset synchronicity or
• Prevention via entrainment of sleep with
  artificial light/ dark cues, scheduled meals,
  exercise and other activities, pharmaceutical
  assists.

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Hygiene

• Adherence to hygiene standards considered
  important for health and self-esteem as well as
  enhanced morale and standards of personal decorum
  and respect for others.
• Previous habitats characterized by facilities
  that were laborious to use, lacked privacy,
  cumbersome and cramped.

• No. of Impact
• Mission Phase incidents Low Mod. High
• Preflight Training 9 6 3 0
• Inflight Operations 26 9 12 5
• Payload/Experiments 4 1 3 0
• Housekeeping 5 1 3 1
• Personal Hygiene 5 1 3 1
• Postflight Activities 7 3 4 0
• Totals 42 18 19 5
• Santy PA, Holland AW, Looper L and
  Marcondes-North R. 1993

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Clothing

• Variety and stimulation enhanced by personal
  décor.
• Recommendations minimum of weekly changes of
  outer garments, daily changes of undergarments,
  clothing for exercise
• Variety of colors and adjustable.
• Laundry facilities improves opportunity for
  variability and reinforces hygiene.

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Exercise

• Exercise primary countermeasure for bone
  decalcification and muscle atrophy.
• Amt of exercise required in lunar gravity is
  under investigation.
• Need exercise systems equipment that are
  intrinsically motivating inherently fun.
• Equipment located close to hygiene facilities
  related work (e.g., studies) but away from sleep
  facilities labs concerned with biological or
  vibration contamination.

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Food

• Food and eating are central events and major
  sources of stimulation and variety
• Variety and quality of food important
• Meals promote orientation to group welfare,
  provide opportunities for face-to-face social
  exchange associates satiation of physiological
  needs with group interaction.
• Need individual selection, snacking, sharing of
  food preparation tasks.
• Opportunities to contribute to food resources
  through individual gardening activities provide
  sources of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and
  group recognition.

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Leisure

• Leisure activities should not include overtly
  interpersonally competitive activities.
• Beating personal bests, activities that offer
  opportunities for growth or testing and improving
  mission related skills preferred.
• Use of immersive virtual reality systems may
  provide stimulating games or pleasurable
  activities.
• Listening to music or viewing movies both
  privately and as a group.
• Preparing media, presentations will be strong
  work-leisure activity.
• Events and holidays should be scheduled as well
  as spontaneous.
• Groups will develop own variety of sports,
  games and holidays.
• Provisions for crafting and gardening important.

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Communication

• Private send receive, full fidelity
  audio/video/3D immersion via virtual
  reality/telepresence technology
• Minimally, personal encryption codes to ensure
  confidentiality, open channels to Earthside,
  maximized use of email, store and
  forward/retrieve audio/video with family/
  friends/ colleagues.
• Protocols for communication of negative news
  should be in place, understood and agreed upon by
  crews.
• Maintenance of remote command and control
  relationship with MC is critical requires
  attention/ training on both sides.

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Work, Training, Simulation Preparation

• EVAs will be major source of stimulation
• All members should have EVA roles and participate
  in scientific discovery.
• Personal growth opportunities will be critical
  for learning new skills relevant to the mission
  personal interests.
• Facilities on-site should provide for training,
  access of databases, applications accessible from
  labs, workspaces and private quarters.
• Schedules should be oriented on achieving goals
  leave timing and micromanagement to crew.
• Protection of non-work and leisure time must be
  in place and enforced.
• Use of production spaces and maintenance tasks
  must be shared equitably.

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Monitoring and support

• Distance key- Mars requires greater self-support
  and monitoring capabilities than Moon
• Moon requires more than previous stations
• Monitoring support is both passive and active
• Need real-time feedback capability for crew self
  monitoring to enable first line crew control and
  response for adaptation implementation of
  countermeasures (e.g., stress).

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Project Boreas

• Mars Polar Base 5 modules (smaller consumables
  cache module) arranged around a 6th central
  growth module provides maximum accessibility and
  multiple choices for traffic flow, reducing
  potential conflicts over intrusions and
  accessibility restrictions.

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Project Boreas

• Plant greenery in Growth Module provides
• ecological fractal properties,
• terrestrially familiar and restful surroundings,
• stress reduction,
• full spectrum Earth normal lighting (required
  for plants),
• water features (dual use of hydroponics system),
• workbench for creative construction and crafting
  activities,
• spaces between plantings for semi-private
  gatherings.

Recreation / private
Recreation / communal
Work
Communal work / recreation
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Project Boreas Sleep Module

• Each module core decorated in different
  environmental theme (e.g., forest, cityscape,
  prairie, mountains, seashore).
• Fostered perceptions of changing environment
  going from one module to another.
• Use of immersive virtual reality systems in a
  Biotrope system digital reality themed media
  (e.g., sounds of ocean waves) linked to real
  environments on Earth updated periodically or
  in continuous real-time transmission provided
  greater variety and stimulus.

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Project Boreas

• Windows in both side walls and ceilings in most
  chambers at different heights provides visual
  variety. Exterior lighting outside hab provides
  visual detail and wayfinding elements.
• Each module core decorated in different
  environmental theme.
• http//www.bis-spaceflight.com/sitesia.aspx/page/1
  70/id/980/l/en

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Conclusions

• Habitat design can significantly contribute to
  psychosocial countermeasures
• Attention to mission scheduling and protocols to
  minimize overwork, command control conflicts,
  displacement, communication breakdowns.
• Enabling technology should minimize burdensome
  tasks, maximize immersive capabilities and group
  individual performance.

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Acknowledgements

• Project Boreas
• Mark Greene
• ANY. Limited. Design studios.
• University of the Arts, London, England

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Questions?
Mona Lisa Project, MDRS, May 2005