When the Artemis astronauts finally land on the Moon, they will be there from a few days to a few months. While the Moon is only a few days’ journey from Earth, the Artemis astronauts may still feel frantically stuck in their environment and unable to get outside without a space suit. Astronauts traveling to Mars, on the other hand, will be away from home much longer, possibly two years longer. They will be stuck in a spaceship for the long trip to Mars, stuck inside a Martian surface/subsurface habitat for even longer and unable to get out without a spacesuit, then stuck in the same spaceship for the long trip of returning home. Remove all ads on Universe Today Join our Patreon for just $3! Get the ad-free experience of a lifetime Anyone who has taken long stretches of time away from their family—whether you’re working long hours for your career or working for your country (twice for this writer)—knows that this can be a huge mental health drain on all parties involved. The individual begins to question whether their “mission” is worth it, and families begin to question the legitimacy of long-term stays in this precarious situation. This mental health drain could be greatly amplified for any crewed trip to Mars, with some of the astronauts and their families back home no doubt questioning the mission knowing that if one component fails, they won’t be returning home. But what possible steps can be taken to curb this mental health drain and help both parties stay focused? Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Everyone loves virtual reality (VR), especially for video games. Today, we can’t turn on our TV or streaming service without seeing an ad for the latest VR headset that you’ll likely immerse yourself in for hours. For human spaceflight, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have begun using VR and augmented reality (AR) to help perform their various tasks on the orbital outpost, from controlling robots to performing maintenance. But what if future Mars astronauts could use this same technology for recreational purposes to help improve their mental health while on a planet that is literally trying to kill them? Photo of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on the International Space Station on February 20, 2016 wearing the HoloLens device for Sidekick, a project whose goal is to examine how augmented reality can reduce training requirements for the crew while increasing their work performance in space. (Credit: NASA) The common perception is that astronauts are these superhuman freaks of nature, but they’re still very human, and they all have their favorite hobbies and activities, like fine art, running marathons, and scuba diving. When some of these brave pioneers are on Mars, we could send them exciting video of these same favorite hobbies and activities to help improve their mental health, thereby improving their mission focus. All transportation Holoportation involves taking a 3D image of a person and sending it anywhere in real time, and was recently used on the ISS. Like VR/AR, holoportation requires the use of special glasses to see the object and was featured several times in the Hulu series, The First, which ironically depicted the first manned mission to Mars. For our future Mars astronauts and their families, holoportation can be used to talk to each other, albeit with a slight time delay. This technology will only improve in the coming years, and Mars astronauts seeing their family members as a real 3D image could have a much more positive impact on their mental health than just talking to them on a Zoom call or other traditional 2D video communication format. Holoportation image of NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid, on the International Space Station on October 8, 2021. (Credit: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet) When will humans go to Mars? How will the astronauts who are away from their families for such a long time react? Can VR/AR and holoportation positively impact their mental health throughout their journey? Only time will tell, and that’s why we science! As always, keep doing science and keep looking up!
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