NASA History Office

cover National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA History Office SP-483 LIVING ALOFT Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight Mary M. Connors NASA Ames Research Center Albert A. Harrison University of California, Davis Faren R. Akins University of Santa Clara Prepared at Ames Reseach Center Scientific and Technical Information Branch, 1985 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Washington, D.C. Table of Contents http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/cover.htm (1 of 2)8/6/2005 10:26:59 AM cover Updated: August 6, 2004. Steven J. Dick, NASA Chief Historian Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator For further information E-mail [email protected] HTML work: Chris Gamble. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/cover.htm (2 of 2)8/6/2005 10:26:59 AM contents LIVING ALOFT: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight ...the early phases of a science require...a certain disregard for the formalisms and pedantic, creeping construction of the ultimate scientific edifice. Perhaps what is essential is a foundation of sensible, if vague, ideas and orienting attitudes- correct in their broadest sweep if not in their precise predictions. Jack P. Hailman Science, 168, 701 (1970) - Table of Contents - Acknowledgements. CHAPTER I - LIVING IN SPACE. BACKGROUND. A FRAMEWORK FOR FORECASTING. Guiding Assumptions. Theoretical Orientation. The Available Data. SPACE ENVIRONMENTS. The Physical Environment. The Social Environment. Basic Reactions to Space-like Environments. Temporal Fluctuations. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER II - BEHAVIORAL AND SELECTION IMPLICATIONS OF BIOMEDICAL CHANGES. PHYSIOLOGICAL DECONDITIONING. Simulation Studies. Resistance to Deconditioning. Countermeasures. VESTIBULAR ALTERATIONS. Manifestations and Theory. Resistance to Vestibular Effects. Countermeasures. VISUAL CHANGES. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER III - HABITABILITY. BACKGROUND. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. Interior Space. Food. Hygiene. Temperature and Humidity. Decor and Lighting. Odor. Noise. HEALTH AND LEISURE. Recreation. Exercise. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/contents.htm (1 of 4)8/6/2005 10:27:02 AM contents PRIVACY. Meaning and Functions. Theory. Bases of Needs. Mechanisms. Crowding. Territoriality. Privacy in Space. COMPLEX EFFECTS. Multiple Stressors. Aftereffects. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER IV - PERFORMANCE. DESCRIBING PERFORMANCE. Work Requirements in Space. Human Performance Abilities. ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE. Discrete-Task Assessment Techniques. Multiple-Task Batteries. Partial- and Full-Scale Simulation. In-flight Performance Assessment. Future Focus of Research on Performance Assessment. ISSUES IN ASTRONAUT WORK REGIMES. Factors Affecting Work Capacity. Factors Affecting Work Schedules. Factors Affecting Workload. The Effects of Desynchronosis. Sleep Disturbances. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER V - SMALL GROUPS. INTRODUCTION. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CREW COMPATIBILITY. Gender. Age. Culture. Personal Attractiveness. Emotional Stability. Competence. Cooperativeness. Social Versatility. Similarities and Complementarities. Group Homeostasis. Crew Size and Social Compatibility. Assembling Groups. INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS. Leadership. Cohesiveness. Compliance, Conformity, and Independence. Group Performance. Temporal Dynamics. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER VI - COMMUNICATION. INTRODUCTION. DIRECT INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION. Verbal Communication. Nonverbal Communication. MEDIATED COMMUNICATION. Planning Considerations. Systems Requirements. Systems Effects. Application to Space. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/contents.htm (2 of 4)8/6/2005 10:27:02 AM contents COMMUNICATION NETWORKS. Internal Communication. External Communication. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER VII - CRISES. INTRODUCTION. EXTERNALLY PRECIPITATED CRISES. Experience in Space. Individual Response to Threat. Group Processes. Implications for Space. INTERNALLY PRECIPITATED CRISES. Psychological Episodes. Transcendant Experiences. Substance Abuse. Grief. Crisis Intervention. Implications for Space. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER VIII - ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT. INTRODUCTION. SPACECREW STRUCTURE. Power Structures. Work Roles. Normative Structures. MOTIVATION. Rewards. Sanctions. EXTERNAL RELATIONS. Boundary Roles. Interorganizational Conflict. Models of Conflict Management. Reassimilation. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. CHAPTER IX - SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. PURPOSE. CHAPTER SUMMARIES. DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. General Research Issues. Extended Spaceflight Variables. Competing Perspectives. Neglected Research Areas. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. Situations and Environments. Methods and Approaches. CONCLUSIONS. REFERENCES. Cover artist: Jack Perlmutter Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Connors, Mary M. Living Aloft http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/contents.htm (3 of 4)8/6/2005 10:27:02 AM contents (NASA SP ; 483) Bibliography: p.333 Includes indexes. 1. Manned space flight. 2. Space flight- Psychological aspects. 3. Human engineering. I. Harrison, Albert A. II. Akins, Faren A. III. Title. IV. Series. TL873.C66 1985 302 85-5149 http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/contents.htm (4 of 4)8/6/2005 10:27:02 AM acknowl LIVING ALOFT: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight [xi] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to express our deep appreciation to R. Mark Patton, Special Assistant to the Director of Life Sciences, NASA Ames Research Center, who provided both initial support and continuing encouragement throughout this study, and who offered helpful comments on each and every chapter of the manuscript. We also gratefully acknowledge the improvements made to individual chapters by the comments and suggestions of Earl A. Alluisi, Frederick R. Guedry, Robert C. Haygood, J. Michael Lentz, Joseph E. McGrath, Ronald E. Rice, Don A. Rockwell, Everett M. Rogers, Daniel S. Stokols, and John L. Vohs. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-483/acknowl.htm8/6/2005 10:27:03 AM ch1-1 LIVING ALOFT: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight [Artist: Mitchell Jamieson] I. LIVING IN SPACE BACKGROUND [1] Since the earliest days of spaceflight, substantial concern has been expressed regarding the physical needs of astronauts, including any biological damage that might result from exposure to radiation or from reduction in gravitational forces. In contrast, relatively little concern has been directed towards people's psychological and social adjustment to space. At one time this difference in emphasis was justified. The Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights were measured in hours and days and it could be reasonably assumed that astronauts would be able to withstand certain deprivations for these brief periods. The longer flights of Skylab presented a different picture. Early in the development of Skylab, it was recognized that steps would have to be taken to accommodate a wider variety of human needs. However, the needs that were addressed remained narrowly defined and centered primarily on habitability considerations. We are now at the point in the development of spaceflight where the range of psychological and social requirements of the human participant must be given full consideration. There is hope that NASA soon will move ahead with its long awaited space station. As this is written, information from the Russian space program suggests that the Soviet Union will soon launch a space vehicle capable of carrying a crew of twelve, possibly as a prelude to a manned Mars mission. Whatever the specific projects or time frames, it seems clear that tomorrow's manned spaceflights will involve large numbers of people living and working together under close confines and in [2] "unnatural" environments for long periods of time. Adjustment to such conditions has important implications for mental health, for social organization, and ultimately for mission success. Because tomorrow's astronauts are likely to expect, and even demand, greater autonomy in living and working arrangements, the planners' perspective must extend beyond concern for effective functioning within the space community and encompass the relationship between the space community and the home planet. In this book we attempt to identify and assess, in a serious and systematic fashion, the psychological and social problems that may be associated with future space missions, and to explore some possible solutions. This task involves establishing both a structure in which relevant issues can be considered and a level of analysis that can contribute to a scientifically based understanding of human adaptation to space. Several authors, expressly or tacitly, have affirmed the need for the integration of behavioral and social science methods and findings into space mission planning and management (e.g., Leonov and Lebedev, 1975, 1972; Berry, 1973a; Kubis, 1972; Sells, 1966). In 1972 the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences issued a publication entitled Human Factors in Long Duration Space Flight, which attempted to approach the question of the human in space in a comprehensive fashion. Through a series of essays, the contributors to this volume looked at various aspects of human adjustment to space, placing particular emphasis on the neglected behavioral, psychological, and sociological factors of this "microsociety in a miniworld." The present volume attempts to build upon and broaden this past work, and, on occasion, to challenge the assumptions upon which it and other earlier discussions rest. Much of the

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