Life Sciences in the Space Program 



humans to work effectively as part of a group and to maintain psychological 

 health under the projected conditions of space flight (5,6). 



The solutions to these problems are as much beyond our direct experience as 

 were the effects of even an hour of microgravity before the space program began. 

 Let us assume that the physiological problems associated with 1 or more years 

 spent in microgravity or low gravity are survivable or that the outstanding 

 engineering problems, as specified in the "Systems Engineering" paper that 

 follows, have been resolved. The major challenge to behavioral scientists is this: 

 how to design and program the hardware, environment, and activities to keep the 

 crew productive, psychologically healthy, and satisfied. Crew selection and training 

 will continue to remain important. It is probable, however, that the maintenance 

 of positive, productive relationships among the crew will become a more 

 important issue during extended missions. 



Current plans to extend the presence of humans in space have highlighted 

 limitations in the knowledge about the psychological, social, and behavioral 

 requirements for successful long-duration manned missions. This section identifies 

 major scientific issues in the area of crew factors. 



Crezv/Emrironment Interactions 



Systematic research has been limited concerning how best to organize teams, 

 tasks, and the environment to enhance crew efficiency and satisfaction. 



The challenging features of life in space for astronauts on extended missions 

 include the danger and risk of the mission, the constancy of the environment, 



prolonged confinement and 

 isolation in close quarters, the 

 similarity of the daily schedule, 

 the lack of privacy, and the 

 limited number of constant 

 companions. These circum- 

 stances place demands on 

 selecting, training, and 

 organizing the crew and in 

 engineering the environment 

 (7,8,9). In missions conducted 

 to date, great care has been 

 taken in the first three areas. 

 The crew members have been 

 assigned to and trained for 

 particular tasks in a well- 

 organized unit led by a 

 commander. The environment 

 has been determined by the 

 exigencies of the work stations 



The Weightless Environment Training Facility is used for crew training in a simulated 

 space environment. 



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