Weir, Kirsten.

“Mission to Mars: What Psychosocial Challenges Would Astronauts Face

on an Epic Journey to the Red Planet?” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological
Association, June 2018, www.apa.org/monitor/2018/06/mission-mars.

The article includes details on the psychological and physical effects of living in space for
extended periods, as well as two studies and summaries of their findings. It is known that a
multi-year journey with tight quarters, a small crew, delayed communication, loneliness,
constant cosmic irradiation, and the separation from Earth will negatively affect astronauts. A
study showed that cosmic radiation could result in memory deficits, increased anxiety, and
deficits in executive function, all critical factors in the success of a mission. One solution to
this may be “cognitive reserve” or constant learning/relearning. Physically, astronauts face
nausea, muscle wasting, changes in visual perception, difficulty exercising, and an increased
risk of kidney stones and UTIs. The Mars500 study (520 days of isolation, six males)
revealed that the participants developed abnormal sleep-wake cycles, insomnia, exhaustion, a
more sedentary lifestyle, reduced sleep quality, and some mild symptoms of depression. Also,
the study found that the more “stressed” crew members caused more conflicts throughout the
mission. A new science, biomarkers of personality traits, may become very helpful in
choosing the crew of future missions to Mars by aiding behavioral scientists at NASA in
finding more resilient candidates.

While the author of this source is not an expert on behavioral science or space, she cited
multiple experts. The author is qualified to discuss space psychology because she has studied
biology and has a Master’s degree in journalism and science, health, and environmental
reporting. The article certainly touches on multiple sides of the subject, and could only go
further to discuss the finances of the topic. Discussing finance would be very hard to do,
however, and is not entirely relevant to the subject. The author is not biased at all and
provides only facts from the sources. The article was written in 2018 and included data from
studies in 2016 and 2014. The information is corroborated and evident on NASA’s webpage
on behavioral psychology and ESA’s webpage on the Mars500 project. For example, Weir
claims that the capsule is meant to “mimic the feel and function of a Mars shuttle,” and the
ESA refers to the capsule as a simulated spacecraft which “lifts off,” “shifts orbit,” and
“lands.”