NASA has enlisted the help of the United States Navy to prepare for the first manned mission to Mars, a journey that could take a serious toll on astronauts.
NASA has been publicly planning its first manned mission to Mars for the past few years, and it grows more serious about its plans each day. According to a report from Livemint, the space agency has enlisted the only other group in the country that has experience extremely remote areas: the US Navy’s submarine division.
NASA has reported that it began working with the sub base at Groton, CT to see how astronauts might deal with the stress of the arduous month-long journey to Red Planet. There are many key similarities to astronauts on a mission to space and submarine engineers exploring the depths of the world’s oceans; namely, the challenge of spending long periods of time in complete isolation.
According to Brandon Vessey, a scientist working with NASA’s human research program, the space agency is particularly interested in the Navy’s work on building resilient teams that can withstand the extended alone time and lack of human interaction other than with their close crew mates.
The Navy carried out a specific study in 2010 at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Groton that sought to develop the best guidelines for teamwork in extreme conditions. The Navy found that dialogue, critical thinking and decision-making were some of the most important aspects of teamwork that crews on long missions needed to focus on. They found that a successful team also devised a method for responding to issues and setbacks and carry on with the mission.
The research was released to the commanding officers of the submarines at the Groton base, but they have not become widespread throughout the entire Navy.