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Alexander Kumar, a physician and researcher at Concordia Station, writes from Antarctica, where he conducts scientific experiments for the European Space Agency’s human spaceflight program.

Antarctica can be an overpowering and overwhelming continent, and spending winter in the Antarctic has been used as a comparable setting for long-term manned spaceflight and as a model for planetary exploration.

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So the question we face is: How can we produce the “perfect astronaut” — someone who, through honed selection and detailed and directed training, can operate under any degree of isolation, stress and sensory deprivation, both effectively at individual tasks and as a sociable, skilled and appropriate crew member, for a manned mission to Mars?

To answer this question we first have to think about how a person interacts with and is challenged by extreme environments. Broadly speaking, the major stresses and challenges affecting human life, which in turn affect performance within extreme environments ranging from space to the Antarctic winter, can be divided into these five categories:

1. Physiological (physical) — from radiation to altered circadian rhythm; in space, this includes adaptation to microgravity and Space Adaptation Sickness (S.A.S.), whereas in high-altitude areas of Antarctica, it includes exposure to low oxygen levels and chronic hypobaric pressure.

2. Psychological — living within a hostile or alien extreme environment “away from the norm,” isolation, confinement, high risk or potential for loss of life and limited sensory stimuli.

3. Psychosocial — forced, close-quarters interpersonal contact, crew factors (culture, sex, size, personalities, etc.) and conflict and resolution.

4. Human factors — limited communications, fluctuating workload levels, risk, dealing with equipment failure, use of equipment within extreme environments, and increased reliance on technology for survival.

5. Habitability — hygiene limitations, a relative lack of privacy, artificial lighting, noise exposure and unusual sleep facilities.

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I will concentrate today on human factors and ergonomics, a field that incorporates psychology, industrial and graphic design, anthropometry and psychology, and is an important area of study, essentially because the science behind safety in extreme environments has become an area of focus on many fronts, from space agencies to airlines to operating theaters.

In Antarctica risk runs high as human error, and less commonly machine breakdown, can cost lives. It is interesting to note that the majority of accidents don’t occur at the beginning or even the middle of an expedition; they occur at the end, when human factors are exaggerated.

Expert knowledge and training help, but in the end human survival within such extreme and risk-filled environments relies upon effective performance, problem-solving, vigilance and fine motor skills, as well as the ability to make and take good decisions and continually assess and reassess risk and system performance to prevent the occurrence or worsening of any unexpected problems. But we know no human is infallible, no human is perfect and mistakes are still made regardless of risk assessment, precise planning and implemented health and safety measures.

Human factors research in Antarctica involves studying ways to enable humans to operate safely and effectively, despite the difficulties put upon us by working in such an extreme environment. Areas of interest and study include crew selection and training, habitat architecture and design, human-machine interactions, alongside biological, psychological and behavioral studies of how humans operate within such an extreme, remote and isolated environment. This is the science of designing and balancing workplace conditions and job demands with the capabilities of the working population.

It is interesting to scientists and for spaceflight planning to study the behavioral characteristics of populations in Antarctica — looking out for symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia and hostility, and also studying group dynamics and interpersonal relationships.

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There are different elements to human factors and ergonomics research. One element relevant to Antarctic and spaceflight science that I study at Concordia is “cognitive ergonomics” — looking at mental processes ranging from memory to perception to reasoning and response. All of these have been shown to be affected by the Antarctic winter — for example, winter-over members suffer short-term memory difficulties, slowness processing tasks and changes in reasoning.

Our crew has suffered all of these and more over the winter, which has affected our interpersonal interaction and our bodies’ systems. My research included testing areas of cognitive performance over our long winter to see if we could find ways to curb and prevent the expected decline. Interventions include exercise.

Other factors that can easily affect performance in the workplace include sleep quality, diet, outside stresses and mood. Through such study, we can try to find ways to optimize crew well-being and, in turn, help to ensure long-term performance.

With an increased number of people overwintering in Antarctica and traveling to space for longer periods, personnel selection has improved and ideal characteristics have been summarized in the term “professional isolates” — those who seem most able and ideal to survive the isolation and monotony while completing their tasks working and living in unison with fellow crew members.

Life support systems are being tested and technology built to withstand the remotest and most extreme environments.

In time, these lessons will not only help in developing safety in aviation and your local operating theater, but also in spaceflight and a future mission to Mars. You will see its impact everywhere — from designing the inside of spacecraft, to the selection and training of an appropriate team and the development of technology to be able to voyage into the beyond and safely return.