A review of multi-cultural adaptability and compatibility factors in extreme environments
- Paper number
IAC-06-A1.P.1.02
- Author
Dr. Maite Trujillo San Martin, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Ames Research Center, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The future of space exploration is highly dependant to the adaptability of crewmembers to the different human dimensions associated with long-duration missions in isolated or extreme environments. The challenges of this adaptation might not be limited to the confinement in the spacecraft, the uncertainty of mission events, the duration of the spaceflight or the lack of communication with relatives but also to psychosocial risks inherent in long-duration missions. International partnerships are increasing and the implications of globalization in society are highlighting the numerous advantages of this cooperation. Human diversity has been proved to enrich team accomplishments and benefit social interactions. In the case of space exploration, aptitude, motivation and emotional maturity can be factors to account for astronauts’ preparation to effectively perform in an extended-duration mission, however, others factors such as multi-cultural engagement not tolerance and the likelihood of social integration directly related to crew compatibility will prove to be more important aspects to overcome the stressors associated with the inherent risks of future long-duration space missions. An additional aspect to consider in space studies related to human behavior and crew interactions is the sensitivity of the data, i.e.: astronauts’ experiences and crewmembers interactions, which made the data collection highly inaccessible. In some cases, temporal physiological and physical deterioration during space missions have not been thoroughly evaluated due to the potential outcomes and implications for astronaut re-selection in future spaceflights. However, the omission of spaceflight effects in humans that are not accounted for, diminish the effectiveness of the decisions to be taken and influence the opportunities of humankind in the years to come. Hence, this problem should be tackled. In this paper, a review of multi-cultural adaptation and compatibility factors coupled with the failure or success of a mission in extreme environments from studies in isolated regions such as Antarctica, human interactions in confined sea-based oil platforms and space human dynamics is presented. Conclusions from previous studies are extrapolated, when experimental conditions allows it, to highlight the rational to increase training efforts in this topic and improve multi-cultural adaptability and compatibility assessments in astronaut selection to evaluate the candidate potential to effectively acclimate in experimental setups and furthermore, acclimatize when exposed to the natural stressors of the given extreme environment to successfully perform.
- Abstract document