**2. Deepening of the research on psychosocial factors**

During the 1970s, it was proven during real cosmic flights that relationship and communication issues can have grave consequences. In 1974, the first cosmic strike of a crew led by William Pogue took place, who reasons in his autobiography [18] that the strike happened due to the demanding work program, which did not include time for rest. The exhaustion culminated in a conflict between the control center and the astronauts, to which the astronauts reacted with a 24-hour silence. In 1975, the astronauts themselves pointed out the importance of the psychological aspect of space flights [19]. In 1976, a premature abortion of the mission of the two-member crew of Volynov and Zholobov occurred, which was later attributed to the demanding work conditions, the worsening psychological state of the crew, but also to the serious conflicts between the two astronauts [20, 21]. Almost 10 years later, Harrison and Connors [22] suggested lowering the psychological and interpersonal vulnerability of the team not only by a suitable selection of crew members but also through training in group dynamics and by offering psychological support. They request that the anecdotal testimonies of the importance of these factors be examined by systematic scientific research. In cooperation with the IMBP, the Štola 88 experiment was conducted in the former Czechoslovakia, in which the comparison of two teams simulating a flight to Mars showed how differently the communication can develop during isolation depending on the composition of the team and leadership type [23–25]. In this 23-day experiment (structured for the crew as thirty 18-hour days), it was shown, among other things, that part of the tension manifested itself in a deterioration of the communication with the control center [24, 25]. In a later debriefing, the presence of a woman in one of the teams was mentioned as positive [26]. Related to the renewed considerations of a journey of six (or more) astronauts to Mars, Kanas [27] points to the possible impact of psychological, psychiatric, and interpersonal factors on the safety and success of such a mission. He mentioned interpersonal tension, a continuously decreasing team cohesiveness, the need for privacy, and the leadership's contradicting focus on the task and on emotions. In the 1990s, under the tutelage of the European Space Agency, a 30-day experiment with a six-member crew, Isolation Study for European Manned Space Infrastructure (ISEMSI-90), was carried out [28], as well as a 60-day experiment with a four-member crew, Experimental Campaign for the European Manned Space Infrastructure (EXEMSI-92) [29]. To capture the relationship dynamics, the Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) method [30, 31] was utilized, for example, as well as an analysis of spatial behavior [32, 33] and an analysis of the communication with the control center [34, 35]. During a summary of the EXEMSI experiment's results [36], it was noted that while no conflicts occurred within the team, this came at the expense of suppressing affection and a more rigid functioning of the team. Cazes and his colleagues believe that it was possible to maintain such a communication thanks to the experiment's relatively short duration and to the absence of any real risk. They consider this type of behavior inadequate (even dangerous) for a real space flight. They also point out that the team's cohesiveness was maintained by using the management as a scapegoat, as demonstrated by the criticism of the ground crew during crisis situations. For this reason, Cazes et al. [36] have doubts whether the harmony presented in sociometric tests was real or apparent. An important stimulus for the research of communication in the 1990s was the analyses proving that a majority of accidents in aviation are caused by human factors [37]. As it later turned out, after the introduction of standardized communication rules (the crew management system), accidents caused by human factors decreased significantly [38]. In 1994, a joint project

between the ESA and IMBP was carried out, the Human Behavior in Extended Spaceflight (HUBES) experiment, in which a 30-member crew was isolated for 135 days. In this experiment, physiological variables were observed in addition to the crew's communication. Sociometric tests were included, as well. The sociomapping method, which had been tested for a year on military units of the Czech army [39], supplemented the data collection and will be presented in more depth in the following chapter. In 1996, a 30-day stay of a four-member crew took place as part of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project [40]. Even though the team dynamic was evaluated as ideal during the debriefing of this experiment, one of the recommendations was for the teams to be briefed more and sensitized to the psychological aspects of the experiments. In the summary of the subsequent 91-day experiment that took place in the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project in 1997, its leader mentions that in the early phases of the project, miscommunications occurred between the control center and the crew [41], to which it was necessary to react with an increased emphasis of the "overall team-integration approach," which also included members of the management. Holland a Curtis [42] pointed out in their summary of the results of NASA studies within the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project that extending the length of the mission increases the significance of psychological factors and thus psychological activities, as well, which are meant to ensure the success of the mission [43]. Among those, they mention training, briefing, in-mission tracking, and prospective interventions. They also allude to the importance of communication with the family and other close people outside of the crew. As Galarza and Holland [44] propose, the fact that teamwork and the ability to get along with the team are critical competencies for long-term flights should be reflected in the development of tools and procedures for the selection of people but also in their trainings and in-flight support. Despite the knowledge that tensions may rise during periods of isolation and partial communication isolations of certain team members may occur, the next experiment conducted in the IMBP, Simulation of Flight of International Crew on Space Station (SFINCSS), was carried out without a continuous monitoring of the communication. Furthermore, it utilized subjective evaluation scales and did not provide an appropriate training on group dynamics, which would include cultural and gender aspects, too (a woman took part in the experiment, unlike the previous HUBES and EKOPSY experiments). The experiment had to be terminated prematurely due to an argument between two astronauts, resulting in a physical altercation, an allegation of harassment, and due to the explicit request of a Japanese crew member to be able to leave the shuttle [45, 46]. Despite its failure, this experiment was useful, as it pointed out what consequences an underestimation of a continuous monitoring of communication and its subsequent interventions can have. It also demonstrated that it is necessary to pay attention to linguistic and cultural aspects. Morphew [47] refers to personal conversations with astronauts Jdanov and Atkov to point out that the astronauts themselves consider psychological and psychosocial aspects among the most critical problems of long-term flights, based on their own experience. Among the most significant psychosocial stress factors, Morphew mentions the high demands on team coordination, tensions between the crew members and control center, the forced contact with other crew members, the lack of contact with the family, cultural differences, and other factors, such as differences in gender, personalities, and others. Other non-psychosocial factors, such as high or low workloads, lack of privacy, space adaptation sickness, and of course the permanent life-threatening dangerous environment, must be considered, as well. Morphew [47] concludes that the US cosmic program considers psychological factors critical for increasing the safety and ensuring the success of the mission. In 2004, Manzey states that the research on human behavior during long-term missions is still insufficient to

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*Psychosocial Aspects of a Flight to Mars DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91021*

estimate and reduce specific risks associated with a long-term journey to Mars. In this context, he mentions that it is necessary to pay attention not only to an individual adaptation and performance but also to the interactions among the crew

**3. Sociomapping the communication of the crew on a flight to Mars**

The sociomapping method allows to visually express mutual proximities (and distances) between individual teammates, military units, and crews [39, 50–52]. From a mathematical perspective, proximity is the degree of membership into the fuzzy set of people close to a specific member of the team. Various operational definitions are being used for the degree of membership, depending on the situation. Mutual proximity can be defined by the time spent on joint conversations, the volume of text or information, the average physical proximity, and many other characteristics. Most commonly, scales evaluating the mutual communication or cooperation in a given timeframe from a quantity and quality standpoint are used [52]. Such operationalized values of mutual proximity do not have to be symmetrical for two team members. Data about the validity, reliability, and time dependability is known and constantly being supplemented [52–55]. During the creation of sociomaps, the order of the closest to the furthest colleague is correlated for each team member in terms of the spatial distance ranked by the closest to the furthest according to the degree of membership. The final sociomap is created by maximizing the average Spearman correlation coefficients calculated for each team member [51, 52, 56]. During sociomapping, the average values of the scales are being monitored using the control chart method, which allows to capture significant deviations over time [52, 57, 58]. In the HUBES experiment, it turned out [23] that sociometric tests were not sensitive enough, whereas the scales evaluating the cooperation allowed to capture the gradual development, which consisted in one crew member separating from the other two with a simultaneous decrease in communication (substantiated by analyses of actual communication). The aggregated score expressing the degree of subjectively and physiologically captured stress grew over time, particularly in the final quarter of the experiment [23, 50]. As (not only) the HUBES experiment showed, traditional sociometrical procedures consisting in the selection of the remaining crew members are not very suitable due to their lack of sensitivity to continuous changes, which is particularly important in long-term missions. For this reason, sociomapping was also used in the 90-day experiment ECOPSY-95, in which a three-member crew was expanded by another three-member crew over the course of the experiment. Thanks to sociomapping, it was possible to capture how both crews interconnected from a communication standpoint, particularly thanks to the communication between the two crew leaders [51, 59]. After the departure of the second crew, the original three-member crew returned to the initial composition, while one of the members remained relatively separated from the communication perspective. In the Mars-105 experiment, a flight to Mars was simulated throughout a 105-day stay of a six-member crew in a module of the MIR ship [52]. To monitor the communication, subjective scales were used again, including a five-point evaluation of changes in the communication frequency with individual crew members, for example, the communication in the last previous weeks decreased significantly – decreased slightly – stayed the same – increased slightly – increased significantly. In addition, it included a five-point evaluation of the required optimal change in communication frequency (a wish for a significant decrease – slight decrease – maintenance of the current state – slight increase – significant increase), a percentage evaluation of the quality of cooperation with

members and methods of psychological measures [48, 49].

#### *Psychosocial Aspects of a Flight to Mars DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91021*

*Mars Exploration - A Step Forward*

between the ESA and IMBP was carried out, the Human Behavior in Extended Spaceflight (HUBES) experiment, in which a 30-member crew was isolated for 135 days. In this experiment, physiological variables were observed in addition to the crew's communication. Sociometric tests were included, as well. The sociomapping method, which had been tested for a year on military units of the Czech army [39], supplemented the data collection and will be presented in more depth in the following chapter. In 1996, a 30-day stay of a four-member crew took place as part of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project [40]. Even though the team dynamic was evaluated as ideal during the debriefing of this experiment, one of the recommendations was for the teams to be briefed more and sensitized to the psychological aspects of the experiments. In the summary of the subsequent 91-day experiment that took place in the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project in 1997, its leader mentions that in the early phases of the project, miscommunications occurred between the control center and the crew [41], to which it was necessary to react with an increased emphasis of the "overall team-integration approach," which also included members of the management. Holland a Curtis [42] pointed out in their summary of the results of NASA studies within the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project that extending the length of the mission increases the significance of psychological factors and thus psychological activities, as well, which are meant to ensure the success of the mission [43]. Among those, they mention training, briefing, in-mission tracking, and prospective interventions. They also allude to the importance of communication with the family and other close people outside of the crew. As Galarza and Holland [44] propose, the fact that teamwork and the ability to get along with the team are critical competencies for long-term flights should be reflected in the development of tools and procedures for the selection of people but also in their trainings and in-flight support. Despite the knowledge that tensions may rise during periods of isolation and partial communication isolations of certain team members may occur, the next experiment conducted in the IMBP, Simulation of Flight of International Crew on Space Station (SFINCSS), was carried out without a continuous monitoring of the communication. Furthermore, it utilized subjective evaluation scales and did not provide an appropriate training on group dynamics, which would include cultural and gender aspects, too (a woman took part in the experiment, unlike the previous HUBES and EKOPSY experiments). The experiment had to be terminated prematurely due to an argument between two astronauts, resulting in a physical altercation, an allegation of harassment, and due to the explicit request of a Japanese crew member to be able to leave the shuttle [45, 46]. Despite its failure, this experiment was useful, as it pointed out what consequences an underestimation of a continuous monitoring of communication and its subsequent interventions can have. It also demonstrated that it is necessary to pay attention to linguistic and cultural aspects. Morphew [47] refers to personal conversations with astronauts Jdanov and Atkov to point out that the astronauts themselves consider psychological and psychosocial aspects among the most critical problems of long-term flights, based on their own experience. Among the most significant psychosocial stress factors, Morphew mentions the high demands on team coordination, tensions between the crew members and control center, the forced contact with other crew members, the lack of contact with the family, cultural differences, and other factors, such as differences in gender, personalities, and others. Other non-psychosocial factors, such as high or low workloads, lack of privacy, space adaptation sickness, and of course the permanent life-threatening dangerous environment, must be considered, as well. Morphew [47] concludes that the US cosmic program considers psychological factors critical for increasing the safety and ensuring the success of the mission. In 2004, Manzey states that the research on human behavior during long-term missions is still insufficient to

**130**

estimate and reduce specific risks associated with a long-term journey to Mars. In this context, he mentions that it is necessary to pay attention not only to an individual adaptation and performance but also to the interactions among the crew members and methods of psychological measures [48, 49].
