The complexity of flight tasks and the increasing number of crew members will also lead to more and more complicated interpersonal relationships and psychological states of crew members in space stations, which will become more and more difficult to handle, thus causing psychological obstacles to astronauts and affecting their work and health. Therefore, space doctors believe that the three major factors affecting long-term manned space flight are weightlessness, radiation and psychology.
So, what is the psychological obstacle of astronauts? Astronauts have been in isolated space for a long time when flying in space. The closed cockpit, the quiet space environment, the prescribed communication mode, the limited contact with the ground and the uncomfortable feeling caused by weightlessness make the astronauts feel abandoned, resulting in a series of psychological problems such as anxiety, boredom, depression, missing relatives and tense interpersonal relationships. If these psychological reactions are not overcome, it will affect the health and work of astronauts.
Since manned flight, the longest flight time is one year. During the flight, the United States and the former Soviet Union/Russia have taken various measures to prevent the occurrence of psychological obstacles of astronauts, so that psychological problems have not seriously affected the completion of space missions, but astronauts still have psychological obstacles during the flight, mainly in homesickness, phobia and interpersonal relationships. Psychological barriers also have an impact on the health and work efficiency of astronauts, especially in long-term space flight.
According to the relevant personnel, no matter what psychological preparation is made in advance, what kind of selection and training, after 30 days of flight, hostility between the crew members may still occur. A former Soviet astronaut said about his own experience: "Flying in space together will not be peaceful. During the flight, we will have different opinions and even be extremely angry with our colleagues. However, it is difficult to stand unsteadily in weightlessness and want to bump into people. Sometimes even if you feel frustrated, you can't help it. You just feel tired and often don't know what will cause controversy. "
The flight experience of the United States and the former Soviet Union/Russia shows that hostility is not limited to astronauts, but also includes quarrels between astronauts and ground controllers. Astronauts sometimes deliberately refuse to accept the command of ground personnel and want to fly freely; Some people need to stay quiet for a while and don't like the constant interruption of ground personnel; They sometimes cover up their emotions and reactions. When emotions break out, they vent their anger on people on the ground to alleviate their troubles. This kind of mood often changes periodically, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Facts show that psychological obstacles in flight often affect the working mood of astronauts, and even affect the completion of flight tasks. For example, the ground command station requires German astronaut Chretien to conduct a series of physiological function tests during the "Peace" flight. When testing the experiment, some instruments need to be installed. Astronauts complained that the experiment was too complicated. He said in the flight report that it would take 2.5 hours to install these instruments. Complex experiments make people feel like experimental animals. If the windows on the Peace were open, he would throw these devices out. In addition, the astronauts of Apollo 9 in the United States had a heated debate during the flight, and finally they resolved different views through consultation and reached an agreement. However, the astronauts on Apollo 13 had a fierce quarrel, and they also had an argument with the ground commander, so that the astronauts insisted on stopping working for one day during the flight to resolve their differences. This psychological obstacle of astronauts directly affects the completion of the task. Ground commanders want them to return to the ground in advance in order to avoid the argument from expanding and causing adverse consequences. Although he finally returned as planned, experts still believe that this was a "flight failure" caused by psychological obstacles.
After the American space shuttle Columbia crashed, three astronauts of the International Space Station could not return on time. For space experts, the most worrying thing is not material supply, because the Russian cargo ship Soyuz has sent enough items for astronauts to stay in space for another year. What they are most worried about is whether astronauts can bear the psychological pressure of long-term flight. Because these astronauts are doing short-term flight psychological training on the ground, not long-term flight psychological training. In May, 2005, NASA conducted a simulation test on the harmony between astronauts' long-term life and work in space. The test results show that astronauts live and work together in a limited space on the ground for a long time, and their relationship can easily become very tense, so it is difficult for them to create a harmonious working and living atmosphere. Space psychologists believe that if the three astronauts of the International Space Station stay in the station for one year, the most terrible thing is mental health. The biggest psychological pressure of space flight on them is the fear of death. When they think that there is only a thin bulkhead separated from the vacuum space, there may be meteors hitting the spacecraft, oxygen explosion, solar panel failure and so on. At any time, they will have fear.
Therefore, in the process of conquering the universe, human beings should not only solve the problems of power and transportation, but also solve the social and psychological problems of astronauts. If human beings can use the knowledge of psychology to make the astronauts' interpersonal relationship and mental health in the space station in the best state, their ability to conquer the universe will be further improved.