Life on mars from a self-determination theory perspective : how astronauts' needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness go hand in hand with crew health and mission success : results from HI-SEAS IV

With the advent of long-duration interplanetary space missions, astronauts face new psychological challengesnever observed before. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the objective of the present research was tostudy how astronauts' basic psychological needs relate to astronaut well-being and mission success, and howMission Support could foster astronaut need satisfaction. Specifically, we examined how weekly ups and downsin astronauts' need for autonomy, competence and relatedness related to week-to-weekfluctuations in a set ofpositive (i.e., self-endorsed motivation to follow operating procedures, cooperation with Mission Supportmembers, happiness and performance) and negative outcomes (i.e., oppositional defiance towards operatingprocedures, irritation with Mission Support members and stress) during the Mars simulation HI-SEAS mission 4.Additionally, we examined whether variations in astronauts' needs could be predicted by variations in MissionSupport's communication style in interacting with the crew. The study comprised six volunteers, three womenand three men, between 25 and 36 years of age (M= 30,SD= 4). The HI-SEAS IV mission simulated a yearlongstay on Mars. During the simulation, measures of autonomy, competence, relatedness with crewmembers andloved-ones at home, well-being, motivation, crew-ground interactions and performance were taken on a weeklybasis. The data were analyzed using multilevel analyses. Overall, results indicated significant decreases in theexperiences of autonomy as well as relatedness with both crewmembers and loved-ones at home, which ag-gravated as the mission progressed. Weekly experiences of all three need satisfactions, but in particular au-tonomy and relatedness with fellow crewmembers, were found to relate positively to weekly variations in self-endorsed motivation, cooperation, happiness and performance, and negatively to weekly variations in opposi-tional defiance, irritation, and stress. Moreover, week-to-weekfluctuations in an autonomy-supportive com-munication style from Mission Support were found to relate positively, and a controlling style negatively, toweeklyfluctuations in the crew's experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with crewmembers.Implications for future studies and human spaceflight are discussed.

Publication year:2019

BOF-keylabel:yes

IOF-keylabel:yes

BOF-publication weight:0.1

Authors:International

Authors from:Higher Education

Accessibility:Closed