A tense situation among members of an isolated basis in the Antarctic could predict conflicts between astronauts on a long -distance trip to Mars.
The South African Antarctic Research Base of Sanae IV is located in a remote place in East Antarktis. It houses a team of nine from a doctor, scientists and engineers who spend 10 months in isolation during the hard, dark southern winter.
According to reports, an argument between one of the members and the leader led to a suspected physical attack, death threats and sexual harassment. Names were not published. According to a statement by the South African government officials, the team is taught and the accused person has written a formal apology. The explanation states that the problem is considered solved and the team does not have to be evacuated.
This type of conflict between people who live in extreme isolation and limited quarters is a concern for planners of a much longer human mission to Mars. The journey to the red planet with every technology currently available takes about seven months in one route. As soon as the crew arrives, you have to stay alone for almost a year and wait for the earth to come around its orbit, so that it is on the same side of the sun as Mars for a return journey.
Then it takes six or seven months to travel home. This is a total return trip of 750 to 1,000 days, depending on how much fuel it can be burned.
During this entire trip, the crew will be all alone, limited to its spaceship in the interplanetary space and to the habitat on the surface of Mars. If an emergency occurs, a rescue mission is optimistic of many months. The isolation is tightened by a communication delay. It can take up to 20 minutes for a radio signal to cover the distance between Mars and Earth.
Nobody has ever spent so long in space. An experiment in Russia called Mars 500 simulated such a mission in a closed habitat on Earth. This exercise examined the psychological factors of isolation, and although there were no physical arguments, if an emergency had arisen, they only had to open and get out the door. Mars researchers will not have this option.
A large research among the crews of the International Space Station (ISS) has focused on the physical effects of the long -term space flight, such as: B. the loss of calcium in bones, muscle atrophy and visual problems. Many of these problems can be compensated for with daily movement in space.
NASA has also examined questions of psychological health in the ISS, but not because of the extreme time that would require Mars mission.
We could get more insight into a recently accidental experiment. The American astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth this week after they were stranded at the space station for 286 days. Her return was delayed after her new Boeing Starliner spaceship developed Lecks at the start last June.
However, both astronauts flew in space several times and had long -term flights. During their waiting in space, they took part in ward, including space savings. It would certainly be interesting to assess her from the earth during her unexpectedly long absence to evaluate your mental well -being.
The development of the hardware to reach Mars and survive in the enemy environment will be difficult. Just think of the difficulties with which SpaceX is confronted with the troubled development of your spaceship, the vehicle that could enable a trip to Mars. The first two flights have led to spectacular showers of rocket parts above the Gulf of Mexico.
However, interplanetary trips also require comprehensive psychological training and screening to ensure that a crew can get by with each other before stepping on board a rocket for a multi -year trip.
