There’s a lot to know when working in space
NASA (from Getty Images)
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have shown declines in memory, attention, and processing speed after six months, raising concerns about the impact of cognitive impairment on future space missions to Mars.
The extreme environment of space, including reduced gravity, harsh radiation, and lack of regular sunrises and sunsets, can have dramatic effects on astronauts’ health, from muscle loss to increased risk of heart disease. There is a gender. However, the cognitive effects of long-term space travel are less well documented.
Now, Sheena Dev and colleagues at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, have examined the cognitive abilities of 25 astronauts while on the ISS.
The team conducted 10 tests on the astronauts, some on Earth once before and after the mission, and others on the ISS early and late in the mission. These tests measure specific cognitive abilities, such as finding patterns on a grid to test abstract reasoning, or choosing when to stop an inflated balloon before it bursts to test risk-taking. I did.
The researchers found that on the ISS, astronauts took longer to complete tests measuring processing speed, working memory, and attention than on Earth, but their accuracy was the same. Although there was no overall cognitive impairment or lasting impact on the astronauts’ abilities, some measures, such as processing speed, took longer to return to normal after returning to Earth.
Elisa Raffaella Ferre, of Birkbeck, University of London, said that having clear data on the cognitive effects of space travel is crucial for future human spaceflight, but before we know the results, we need to know the effects of both terrestrial and space travel. states that it is important to collect more data. Big picture.
“Mission to Mars is not only long in terms of time, but also in terms of autonomy,” Ferre says. “Human performance is key as people on the ground will have a completely different interaction with ground control due to distance and communication delays and need to be fully autonomous in making decisions. You don’t want to have astronauts on Mars who have slow reaction times in terms of attention, memory, and processing speed. ”
Given the unusual environment of space, it’s not surprising that there was a certain decline in cognitive performance, says Joe Bower of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. “It’s not necessarily a huge cause for alarm, but it’s useful to know, especially to know your limits when you’re in such an extreme environment,” she says.
That awareness could be especially helpful for astronauts on long-duration missions, Bower added. “It’s not just about how well you perform on a test, it’s also about how you perceive your abilities,” she says. “For example, when you’re sleep deprived, your performance often decreases, but you don’t even realize it’s happening.”
topic:
