Table 4 Checklist tool and recommendations for Space Analog research
Recommendations/ Checklist | |
|---|---|
Psychological Cognitive Aspects | • Psychologist/s supervising all psychological testing and interventions during the mission. • The psychological tools and related experiments to be implemented are based on accepted psychology paradigms. • Methodology is appropriate and defined prior to mission in accordance with respective theoretical background. • Cognitive tools or tests can be individual and team focused/ new more specific tools for the topic can be helpful. |
Psychological Psychosocial and Emotional Aspects | Pre-mission/ training • Selection process focused on both, individual and team aspects. • Adapt selection criteria to long duration missions. During the mission • Potential salutogenic and positive effects of programs or measures to be implemented. • XR/AI/VR all potential measures. Tested before mission. • Planned support and countermeasure program for potential clinical/ mental health related problems. • Planned support for family, co-working teams and friends on Earth. • Translation and spin-offs from space psychology findings for living on Earth to improve adaptation in terms of change for the general population (pandemics, climate change, cross-cultural relationships) Post-mission/ rehabilitation (psychological follow-up) • Define intervention programs/follow-up post-mission both physical and psychosocial depending on duration of the mission. |
Exercise/ physical Activity | • Individualized and flexible exercise protocol • Inclusion of a control group • Single/ systematic approach vs holistic/ complex interaction • Standardized assessment (actimetry, heart rate, skin temperature, perceived effort etc.) • Exercise intervention interaction with other variables (habitat design, day-night schedule, workload, etc.) • Potential use of supporting methods: VR, wearables, diaries, etc. |
Operational Aspects | • Safety. List of risks, case workflow, emergency protocols. • For habitat operators: enforce high scientific practice standards and research plans. • Consider the 3S principle when prioritizing decisions. Safety-Science-Simulation. • Consider including support personnel (mission control/ support teams). • Map missions in the context of other previous missions/ analogs: complexity/ fidelity, literature, lessons learned. • Habitat design for well-being (volume, visuals, etc.) and operational maximization (organization, robotic/AI interaction, etc.) |
