Astronauts offer tips on life in confined space
Atsuhiro Mitsumaru, principal medical officer of the Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate at Japan's space agency, says a comparison can be drawn between life on the International Space Station and staying at home in these days of the coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo reports.
«We can say that both are stressful,» he said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. «What the two situations have in common is that people are in a confined space for a long period, with restrictions on interaction with others.»
The nationwide state of emergency imposed in April has been lifted in most parts of Japan, but it remains in force in Hokkaido and the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas. Residents of the Tokyo and Osaka regions have been asked to refrain from nonessential outings since April 7.
While not all the experiences of astronauts, as highly trained professionals who go through a rigorous selection process, are necessarily applicable to stay-at-home life on Earth, the challenges are essentially the same, with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency listing a sense of isolation from ordinary life and interpersonal issues as key sources of stress on the ISS.
«Spending time in an enclosed space is stressful, no matter how close you are with the people you are staying with,» Mitsumaru noted.
The doctor said that for ISS crew members, it is diverse backgrounds rather than personality differences that tend to prove the most challenging to manage in the confined environment, citing a study that found language problems and different attitudes toward gender relations were factors that had a major impact on relationships onboard the space station.
But, in a possible lesson for stressed families, he said keys to a harmonious crew include how astronauts communicate with each other and their teamwork.
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