Behind the Wings ®
The Podcast – S6, Episode 56
Social Scientist Alires Almon explains why the human element is critical to mission success during long-duration spaceflights.
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In this episode, Alires discusses the impacts of sending people to the Moon and beyond, how to maintain their mental health, and the ethics of extended space missions. With challenges like extreme isolation, communication delays, and living within the confines of the spacecraft, taking care of an astronaut’s overall wellness will be no easy task. There is a lot to learn!
Key Takeaways:
- Alires founded her research company, Deep Space Predictive, to research how emotional health may be impacted on long-duration space missions.
- Humans are social creatures by nature. With challenges such as extreme isolation and long delays in communication between Earth and the spacecraft, a three-year mission to Mars may impact astronauts’ wellness immensely.
- Artificial intelligence could be used as a tool to help maintain astronauts’ mental health. They could train alongside AI to form friendships or rely on it as a support tool in case of emergency.
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