SIMULATED MARS BASE GOT KINDA REBELLIOUS, WORRYING SCIENTISTS,OKAY, THAT'S NOT GOOD.

Who has read Heinlein's "Moon is a Harsh Mistress"?

from
https://futurism.com/the-byte/simulated-mars-base-rebellious

SIMULATED MARS BASE GOT KINDA REBELLIOUS, WORRYING SCIENTISTS
OKAY, THAT'S NOT GOOD.
GETTY / FUTURISM

One of the things that astronauts need to contend with when we
colonize Mars is isolation. After all, they’ll be alone with
just their fellow crew members for months or even years at a
time. Plus, it could get even get worse if a “The Martian”
situation occurs and someone ends up totally alone on the Red
Planet.

Unfortunately, a recent long term isolation experiment on a
simulated Mars base found that participants often get distant
and rebellious as time goes on.

A study conducted by Project SIRIUS — an off-world settlement
test facility in Russia — looked at 17 isolation experiments it
conducted that lasted 120 days each between 2017 and 2019, CNET
reports. The organization found that the study’s participants
grew more and more autonomous as time went on, resulting in
limited communication with mission control.

“The crews in simulated missions tended to reduce their
communication with the mission control during the isolation,
sharing their needs and problems less and less — with rare
exceptions such as important mission events, like landing
simulation,” Dmitry Shved, senior researcher at the Russian
Academy of Sciences and co-author of a paper about the study,
told CNET.

The findings have researchers worried for a number of reasons.

For one, the less the crew communicates with mission control,
the less mission control will be able to understand any issues
that might arise, which “hinders mission control’s ability to
provide support,” Shved said.

He adds that another concern is that the astronauts could grow
so independent that they detach themselves completely from
governing bodies on Earth. That’s right: Researchers are worried
that an astronaut revolution could take place on Mars — which is
honestly kind of cool.

While the findings are indeed disconcerting, there are a few upsides
to a more autonomous crew. After all, being an astronaut is a lot
like any other job — as you get better at it with more experience
and become more competent, you need less and less help from your
managers.

Likewise, a Martian colony with independent and capable astronauts
could mean they’ll be able to confidently address any issues that
might arise. It could also mean stronger collaboration between crew
members.

Ultimately, though, it’s probably better to communicate more
with mission control, especially in the early days of space
colonization. Maybe later we can worry about a Martian
astronaut revolution .

READ MORE: Mars colony simulations: Crew may revolt without strong 
interplanetary communication [CNET]

More on Mars simulations: People Keep Sneaking Onto Simulated Mars
Base for Social Media Clout

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