Life Sciences in the Space Program 



Findings and Recommendations 



Creiv/Etwironment Interactions 



Finding 



• The problems associated with motivating space crews and maintaining 



their efficiency and satisfaction will probably increase as missions become more 

 lengthy Very little information exists on how environmental configurations and 

 the programming of activities can enhance crew productivity and morale. 



Recommendation 



• NASA should continue research into the influences of environmental 

 configurations and the programming of activities on crew efficiency and 

 morale. 



— The research should involve ground-based simulations of space mission 

 modeling and other analog situations. 



— Particular attention should be paid to determining optimum 

 combinations of automated and manually performed mission tasks. 



Interpersonal Interactions 



Findings 



• Small group interaction on extended space missions is an important issue. 



• The Space Station, as well as ground-based analogs, can provide an 

 opportunity to collect information about the dynamics of space crews that can 

 be applied to future long-duration missions. 



Recommendations 



• Research should be based on existing data and information from Soviet and 

 American space flights, undersea habitats, submarines, Antarctic expeditions, 

 and other analogous settings. Additional research should be performed in 

 laboratory and field settings. 



• Studies should be made concerning the effectiveness of confined and 

 isolated groups that vary in size and composition, especially according to 

 male/female ratios, ethnic diversity, and the education and skills of 

 members. 



— The groups should be studied in conditions (i.e., physical, temporal, and 

 social) that approximate the spacecraft environment. 



The dynamics of crews on the Space Station should be studied to gain 

 information that can be applied to future long-duration missions. 





