Keywords

space exploration, psychological effect, astronauts, spaceflight, ICE, mental health

Abstract

The psychological effects of long durations spent in space remain largely unexplored, as do potential treatments for these effects. This review compiled data from 19 articles found via searches on the APAPsychInfo and Google Scholar databases, as well as a few ancillary sources. These studies are relevant to the study of the psychological effects of space travel and isolated, confined, or extreme (ICE) environments, and research into means of addressing them, as well as limitations in current literature on the topic. Studies found sleep deprivation, largely due to microgravity, to be a contributing factor to increased stress in space. Social stress, brought on by long durations isolated from outside contact, is also common and detrimental to study participants. Means of prevention and treatment included deliberate selection of astronaut crews for behavioral stability and competence, pharmaceutical treatments, and onboard behavioral training simulations. These studies are limited by small sample sizes and infeasibility of replicating conditions in space which necessitated terrestrial ICE analog-based studies. Future research will need to address these drawbacks by conducting research in space where possible, and policy will need to be developed to handle the psychological needs of crews in long-duration spaceflight.