Stress in Space - Judging an Astronaut's Mental State

Being an astronaut is stressful. But astronauts aren’t the best at admitting when they’re feeling the strain. An innovative research project uses speech analysis to spot hints of underlying anxieties.

Being an astronaut is a stressful job. You face the constant threat of annihilation, and know that a huge team and expensive mission rely on you doing your job well.

But astronauts aren’t always the best at identifying, or admitting, when they’re stressed or overwhelmed. Sarita Robinson, a psychologist from the University of Central Lancaster, says that while we’re increasingly comfortable with the intense physiological conditions of space travel, our understanding of the psychological impacts still leaves something to be desired. Mark Huckvale and a team at University College London ran a research project that investigated whether subtle variations in speech patterns of astronauts taking part in the Mars 500 experiment might reveal anxieties that the astronauts’ words were hiding.

Could subtle cues in the way an astronaut speaks let mission control know when they’re starting to feel the strain?

‘A Place Called Space’ is the 2015 Royal Institution advent calendar. Every day in the run up to Christmas we'll be releasing an original piece of content exploring the human experience and cultural significance of space travel. With hand-drawn animations, experiments in zero gravity, interviews with astronauts and creative data visualisations, the calendar will fire you into space every morning.

'A Place Called Space' channels the voices of seasoned astronauts and expert scientists through the eyes of a team of talented animators, film-makers and artists, bringing you a thought-provoking gem to kick-start each day.

[DekuStickGamer]

I can't even imagine the stress in a environment like space. Beautiful as always. Great video!

[kikidbm]

((I'd recommend watching too because it's interesting))
- astromauts are more worried about screwing up than blowing up
- the physical problems are pretty much sorted but we don't fully understand the psychological stress they'd be under
- constant focus which leads to exhaustion therefore more likely to make mistakes, which is fine on earth but tiny mistakes are crucial here
- conflict within the community
- not enough downtime due to loads of experiments
- they use speech to examine astronauts mood and changes over time
- short term vs long term missions

[DytliefMoller]

I think the only way we ever truly going to reach other stars, is if we take "home" with us. Meaning basic comforts, and not being constrained to suits/small enclosures. Everyone needs their personal "bubble" when they need But hey...maybe other star creatures heard our radio waves 110 light years away and are on their way to us already =)

[sword]

gym in space, omg i could only dream how it would feel without gravity, wowww

[MultiAxian]

Are astronauts provided regular therapy sessions from NASA or ESA psychiatrists while they're on long-duration missions?

[frodolucanius]

Does someone know the piano song playing when the first woman speaks? Especially the 1:34 parts are awesome

[dengchier]

I have all the requirements for going to space. But am 6'6

[trentonhuggins]

Just like that old Ren and Stimpy episode, Space Madness. 👩‍🚀 😵‍💫

[BariumCobaltNitrogn]

The last woman to speak, what is her name?

[Xiloscient]

Don't send people on year long mission into space until they've deployed with the military for a year long deployment before?
That gives you all the practice you need.

[wei-tingshen]

can they make love in the spacecraft? Im serious, I mean they still have the basic physical demand right?