An anthropologist at the University of Florida argues that long-term space missions, such as the flight of a crew to Mars, will require crew members with a good sense of humor to adjust the crew's microclimate and defuse the situation at a dangerous distance from Earth.
“Missions like this will greatly require people who are able to bring everyone together, bridge the gap when tensions arise, and encourage and raise morale. When you live with others in a confined space for an extended period of time, such as during a flight to Mars, there will be tensions that need to be relieved in one way or another,”says Jeffrey Johnson, who is working with NASA to study the importance of humor during long space flights.
Before turning to space and astronauts, Johnson spent several years studying another isolated group - scientists in Antarctica who spent a lot of time in isolation. In his research, the scientist found that people with a good sense of humor, good timing and funny jokes are critical for forming bonds in stressful conditions. He also showed that it was equally relevant on the bases of different countries: the USA, Russia, Poland, China and India. According to him, these roles are informal and appear within the group, but what is interesting is that if the team has the right combination of psychotypes, the group copes with its task very well, and if not, on the contrary, it works poorly.
In a mission to Mars, communication delays can reach 20 minutes, and an eight-month flight deprives astronauts of timely medical care and other benefits of civilization, therefore, according to Johnson, it is important for the mission to have such a person who could maintain a healthy atmosphere in the team and help her safely. to finish work.
Johnson is now working with NASA to figure out the extent to which people with a sense of humor are necessary for the success of long space missions. To date, he has only observed four groups of astronauts who spent 30 to 60 days in the agency's fictitious space habitat, the Human Exploration Research Analog (Hera) in Houston, Texas. According to the researcher, the Norwegian navigator Roald Amundsen appreciated the importance of such a person on the expedition. In 1910, Amundsen took the merry chef Adolf Lindström on a voyage to find the South Pole, knowing that his cheerfulness and charisma would relieve the general stress of homesickness and long polar nights. "He has done a greater and more valuable service to the Norwegian Polar Expedition than any other person."- Amundsen noted later in his diary.
NASA is planning a manned mission around the Moon in 2023 in preparation for a crewed flight to Mars in 2033. Russian and Chinese space agencies plan astronaut flights from 2040. Private enterprises such as Elon Musk's SpaceX are also targeting Martian missions.
Dmitry Mazalev