The need for the workshop comes from a human craving for space exploration, which can be realised in the near future. This undertaking is honourable and exciting but is challenging even for most mentally prepared and trained astronauts and cosmonauts. Hence, this challenge extends to scientists and industry to devise techniques and technologies that can provide psychological support to the crew on exploration missions. Human space exploration is a test of human abilities, particularly, extending our knowledge and understanding of human capabilities and limitations; and is also a test of technology and how it can provide efficient support throughout the duration of a long mission.
The crew on exploratory missions to Mars and Moon will be faced with interchanging periods of high and low workload, a multitude of stressors and the monotonous passage of travel time. The success of the mission will largely depend on the psychological and physiological well-being of the crew, which will be difficult to support merely through external resources, such as communication with the mission control on Earth. The crew will have to be dependent on each other for the entire duration of the mission, which can last 190 days during a Moon mission and up to 1000 days return trip to Mars. The evacuation of the crew in case of an emergency is not possible during a mission to Mars, but can be done from the Moon surface. The communication during a mission to Mars has delays of up to 40 minutes. Under these conditions, where external immediate support is unavailable, the crew will have to problem solve and deal with events themselves.
For detail information on missions to Mars and Moon please refer to:
1. ESA HUMEX: A Study on the Survivability and Adaptation of Humans to Long-Duration
Exploratory Missions,
view the pdf here.
2. Hoffman & Kaplan (1997) Human Exploration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the
NASA Mars Exploration Study Team,
http://exploration.jsc.nasa.gov/marsref.
