{"id":207103,"date":"2021-03-20T19:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-20T16:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mars-missions-could-leave-astronauts-with-severe-psychological-damage-new-study\/"},"modified":"2021-03-20T19:00:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T16:00:07","slug":"mars-missions-could-leave-astronauts-with-severe-psychological-damage-new-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mars-missions-could-leave-astronauts-with-severe-psychological-damage-new-study\/","title":{"rendered":"#Mars missions could leave astronauts with severe psychological damage \u2014 new study"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27128f1c76e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27128f1c76e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mars-missions-could-leave-astronauts-with-severe-psychological-damage-new-study\/#Simulating_microgravity\" >Simulating microgravity<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Mars missions could leave astronauts with severe psychological damage \u2014 new study<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            Human space missions to Mars are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/elon-musk-releases-details-of-plan-to-colonise-mars-heres-what-a-planetary-expert-thinks-79733\">the next great leap<\/a> in space exploration, with NASA targeting the 2030s as a reasonable time frame for taking <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-nasas-simulated-missions-tell-us-about-the-need-for-martian-law-84790\">the first humans there<\/a>. But boarding on a journey to Mars is not like catching a flight to New York. Space is an extremely hostile environment for human life \u2013 from the lack of gravity and harmful radiation to isolation and the absence of night and day.<\/p>\n<p>Deep space missions to Mars will be much more physically and mentally demanding than the journeys we\u2019ve made so far during 60 years of human space exploration. A flight to Mars and back will last <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roximately 14 months, while the actual exploration mission will last at least three years. Sustained high levels of cognitive performance and effective teamwork are prerequisites for the safe and successful outcome of these missions.<\/p>\n<p>But a new study, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fphys.2021.643854\/\">published in Frontiers of Physiology<\/a>, has discovered that the lack of gravity on such missions could have a negative impact on astronauts\u2019 cognitive skills and emotional understanding.<\/p>\n<p>Since the first space missions, it has been clear that exposure to \u201cmicrogravity\u201d (weightlessness) leads to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/five-things-that-happen-to-your-body-in-space-52940\">dramatic changes in the human body<\/a>. This includes alterations in the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neural systems. On Earth, we detect gravity with the help of our vision and various organs, including those inside the inner ear. When our head is upright, small stones in the ears \u2013 the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com\/blog\/know-your-brain-vestibular-system\">vestibular otoliths<\/a> \u2013 are balanced perfectly on a viscous fluid. But when we move the head, gravity makes the fluid move and this triggers a signal to the brain that our head has changed position. In spaceflight, this process no longer works.<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight can even adversely alter the anatomy of astronauts\u2019 brains. Structural brain changes have been observed in astronauts after returning from the International Space Station (ISS). These include the brain physically <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajnr.org\/content\/40\/11\/1878.abstract\">moving upwards inside the skull and reduced connectivity<\/a> between areas on the layer of the brain, the cortex, and those inside.<\/p>\n<p>How these changes affect behavior is not yet fully understood, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/gravity-influences-how-we-make-decisions-new-research-111935\">but scientists are making progress<\/a>. We know that astronauts <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.physiology.org\/doi\/full\/10.1152\/jn.00476.2019\">can suffer from<\/a> disorientation, perceptual illusions, balance disorders, and motion sickness. But such findings are often based on small samples.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Simulating_microgravity\"><\/span>Simulating microgravity<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The new NASA-supported study investigated the effects of microgravity on cognitive performance. But rather than sending their 24 study participants to space, they sent them to bed. That\u2019s because the impact of a certain type of bed rest is analogous to the effects of microgravity \u2013 we use it a lot in research. When we are upright, our body and vestibular otoliths are in the same direction as gravity, while when we are lying down they are orthogonal (at right angles).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"Image of a participant in the study.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/389855\/original\/file-20210316-23-10wte6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/03\/20\/mars-missions-astronauts-psychological-damage-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fspace%2F2021%2F03%2F20%2Fmars-missions-astronauts-psychological-damage-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Lying down for two months is harder than it sounds. DLR\" data-title=\"Share Lying down for two months is harder than it sounds. DLR on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Lying down for two months is harder than it sounds. DLR on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Lying down for two months is harder than it sounds. DLR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The participants in the study, therefore, had to lay on their backs at an inclination of 6\u00b0 angle, with the head lower than the body, for nearly two months without changing position. They were asked to regularly perform a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of cognitive tasks designed for astronauts and relevant to spaceflight in order to evaluate their spatial orientation, memory, risk-taking behavior, and emotional understanding of others.<\/p>\n<p>Results showed a small but reliable slowing of cognitive speed in tasks involving sensory and motor skills. This seems to be coherent with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamaneurology\/fullarticle\/2722895\">reported changes<\/a> in brain tissue density over the \u201csensorimotor cortices,\u201d the primary sensory and motor areas of the brain which help process sensory inputs and movements, observed after spaceflight. Participants also had difficulty reading emotions when looking at people\u2019s faces.<\/p>\n<p>Adjusting to changes in gravity requires time and effort. While the performance on most cognitive tasks initially declined, after about 60 days they then remained unchanged over the course of the experiment. But the ability to recognize emotions continued to worsen. In fact, participants became biased towards negative emotions \u2013 they were more likely to identify other people\u2019s facial expressions as angry and less likely to interpret them as happy or neutral.<\/p>\n<p>This is an important finding. The ability of astronauts to be sharp and quick thinkers is crucial to a space mission. So is the capability to correctly \u201cread\u201d each other\u2019s emotional expressions, given they have to spend a lot of time cooped up together in a small space. Space agencies should therefore consider adequate pre-flight psychological training as well as in-flight psychological support in order to minimize this risk.<\/p>\n<p>Recent advancements and investment in rocket <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> are ushering in a new and exciting age of space exploration. Microgravity can be profoundly unsettling and can compromise performance levels in many ways. With an eye towards deep-space human missions to Mars, it is a pressing research goal to get a better insight into how microgravity influences cognitive performance and emotional health, as well as develop appropriate medical and psychological support for spaceflight.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/157259\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/elisa-raffaella-ferre-704054\">Elisa Raffaella Ferr\u00e8<\/a>, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/royal-holloway-795\">Royal Holloway<\/a>\u00a0is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/astronauts-on-mars-missions-could-suffer-cognitive-and-emotional-problems-new-research-157259\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/03\/20\/mars-missions-astronauts-psychological-damage-syndication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Mars missions could leave astronauts with severe psychological damage \u2014 new study&#8221; Human space missions to Mars are the next great leap in space exploration, with NASA targeting the 2030s as a reasonable time frame for taking the first humans there. But boarding on a journey to Mars is not like catching a flight to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/1-copy-41.jpg&signature=a3a6099614402a24ab1d8973f4bc299b","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[71612,73008],"class_list":["post-207103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-insights","tag-psychology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}