Raised by Wolves

Off-world colony simulation reveals changes in human communication over time with Earth

Nov 2021, phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2021-11-off-world-colony-simulation-reveals-human.html

Scientific reports from Russia are rarely on our radar here, so we are excited to see this:

In 2017 and 2019, two isolation experiments dubbed SIRIUS (Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station) were conducted across periods of 17 days and four months, respectively, in a facility in Moscow, Russia using international, mixed gender crews. These missions studied the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology, and team dynamics to help prepare for long-duration space exploration beyond Earth.

The crews' communication with the outside world in these experiments not only diminished over time, but caused friction initially, and eventually resulted in cohesion.

"The crews in such missions tend to reduce their communication with mission control during isolation, sharing their needs and problems less and less," said Dr. Dmitry Shved, of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Aviation Institute, as well as an author of the study.

"The rare bursts of contacts were seen during important mission events (eg landing simulation). Also, there was a convergence of communication styles of all SIRIUS crew members, and an increase in crew cohesion in the course of their mission. This happened even though the crew composition was diverse by gender and also cultural background, with pronounced individual differences."

"Our findings show that in autonomous conditions, the crews undergo psychological 'autonomization', becoming less dependent on mission control.

"Also, the crews in such conditions tend to increase their cohesion when crew members become closer and more similar to each other, despite their personal, cultural, and other differences. So, these phenomena look promising for future solar system exploration — or for any teams living and working in isolation on Earth."

via Russian Federation State Scientific Center, Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow Aviation Institute at National Research University, Russia: Natalia Supolkina et al, External Communication of Autonomous Crews Under Simulation of Interplanetary Missions, Frontiers in Physiology (2021). DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.751170

http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.751170

Image credit: Megastructures, David Navarro, 2019

(not the guitarist from Jane's Addiction)