INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NASA has a bold plan to send astronauts to Mars by 2030 (or thereabouts)
engineering the rockets and making sure there are enough supplies for a round trip, to developing 3D printing tools and ensuring a
tech and logistics and overlook arguably the most important bit of the mission: the astronauts themselves.NASA is working hard to ensure
Salamon, Researcher at The Ohio State University, who's interested in tech applications that positively impact mental health on long-term
essential component of missions to Mars
In space, however, an astronaut suffering a decrement in mental health could make a mistake that ends the mission or worse, the lives of the
Not only that, but they have a support network that includes communication with people on the ground, time to relax and time to
socialize.Testing on the groundTraveling to Mars will come with its own set of challenges, all of which are impossible to recreate exactly
Arctic research stations and submarines can provide a useful context that could help us assess the psychological issues that might arise on
a mission to the red planet.Astronauts taking part in a simulation in NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)
healthy and happyNASA divides these physical and mental health factors into five categories that are related to the pressures astronauts are
subject to as they travel through space
This helps astronauts assess and improve their sleep and alertness by recording how much they move, and the amount of ambient light around
are being introduced, such as journaling
The idea is this will give astronauts a safe space to vent their frustrations, as well as provide researchers with a tool to study
agencies to train astronauts on the ground and up in space
There have been countless studies about the efficacy of having people view nature scenes to decrease stress, which could be even more
private in the confined and intense conditions of a spacecraft.NASA has been using VR to train astronauts for years
stress management and even pain management in a number of scenarios, from diagnosing and treating anxiety to dealing with PTSD, so it makes
indoor exercise with a VR headset produced calming effects, which were even more calming than exercising outdoors among nature
clear that, as tech advances, there could be huge opportunity for VR to help calm people and assist them in working through problems,
Astronauts could use a similar way of chatting with friends and family
This means that although it can be used to calm people and give them alone time in nature, the right experience could also help them to feel
This could make astronauts feel less lonely, and they may miss their families less if they can interact with them regularly rather than just
sending text-based messages or using video calling.Thanks to platforms like Facebook Spaces and vTime, developments in social VR as a means
to connect people at great distances look promising, especially given advances in haptic touch technology
But given that VR is proving to be a valuable way of positively impacting on many areas of mental wellbeing, from calming stress to pain
about the efficacy of these methods, but it will be very important to perform in-depth studies that allow researchers to learn what works
It has huge potential as a tool to keep astronauts, and others, mentally and emotionally grounded by providing virtual environments and
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