Two astronauts stranded in space may sound like something out of a Hollywood movie, but for them… National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) That’s now a reality for the crew, Commander Barry Wilmore and Pilot Sunita Williams, who are currently suspended aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
They arrived on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, the first test of the spacecraft with astronauts on board. Wilmore and Williams were scheduled to stay on the ISS for about eight days and then return aboard the same spacecraft. However, the Starliner disaster has sparked debate about its safety. Helium leaks and thruster problems On the way to the ISS.
In the coming days, NASA and Boeing may decide to approve Starliner to return astronauts to Earth, which means their stay may not last very long.
But if authorities cancel the Starliner launch, the astronauts Six more months in orbit before returning home. So how do astronauts deal with the prospect of waiting six months for a rocket to get them home?
It’s hard to wait for things In the best case scenario, it Frustrating, stressful and anxiety-inducingHowever, in extreme situations, it carries great risks. Waiting can be purgatory.
One reason waiting is difficult is because it distorts our sense of time. Think about the last time you were waiting for a delayed train, test results, or an email from a potential new partner. Did it pass quickly, or did it feel long? For most of us, waiting passes slowly. As a result, delays and waits often feel much longer than they actually are.
Waiting slows down our perception of time because it changes the amount of time we have. Thinking about timeIn our daily lives, we often ignore time because our brains only have a limited capacity. If time is not important, simply stop thinking about it and time will pass faster.
While we wait, our desire to know when the wait will be over leads us to spend more time thinking about time. This “watching the clock” makes the minutes and hours pass by quickly. Passing at a snail’s paceStress, discomfort, and pain exacerbate this effect, and waiting in difficult situations can make you feel depressed. Sometimes it feels even longer.
Waiting slows down our perception of time as it affects our behavior and emotions. Normal life is busy and full of ever-changing activities and interactions. When we suddenly have to wait, the flow of life stops, there is nothing else to do, and levels of boredom and frustration increase.
Generally a time full of activity pass fasterWe all tasted this COVID-19 lockdownBeing confined to our homes, unable to see friends or carry out normal daily activities, the rhythm of daily life has been disrupted and there are no distractions, making time seem longer for many of us.
For astronauts trapped aboard the International Space Station, uncertainty about when they’ll return home, limited opportunities for activities and reduced opportunities to contact friends and family combine to make the wait to return home, if it happens at all, feel much longer than six months.
But as scholars who study the effects of time on human psychology and biology, we continue to work with crew members at Antarctic research stations to discover whether waiting in extreme environments is different from waiting in everyday life.
A year in Antarctica
While being confined to the ISS for six months may sound like many people’s worst nightmare, it’s not uncommon for scientists to be isolated and confined in extreme environments for long periods of time.
Every year, organisations such as the Argentine Antarctic Institute (which uses the Belgrano II Antarctic Station), the French Polar Institute and the Italian Antarctic Program, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (which both use the Concordia Station in Antarctica), send research teams for up to 16 months to conduct research on the frozen continent.
March to October Polar WinterThe team will spend six months in near darkness, with complete darkness from May to August. They will face outside temperatures of up to -60°C, wind speeds of 160km/h (100mph), and storms that prevent almost all outdoor activity. Limited internet coverage will also prevent continuous communication with the outside world.
Over the past year, we’ve been investigating how life in Antarctica affects people’s experience of time. Each month, we asked crew members how time felt to them compared to before the mission.
Being confined to the base and with limited contact with the outside world may make time seem slow, but our findings suggest the opposite may be true.
When analyzing the crew’s experiences, 80% of crew members reported that time passed quickly because they were constantly busy with complex tasks such as scientific research. Only 3% reported that time actually felt longer, and these reports occurred during long nights when there was little to do.
These experiences may offer hope to those confined to the ISS. Similar to life on the Antarctic base, NASA astronauts lead busy and mentally demanding lives. These factors may make the time pass more quickly.
But the main reason they wait is Tolerating uncertainty Wilmore and Williams Inside the Boeing 747 But with better information about when things will happen and why delays occur, people may be more tolerant of waiting and its impact on their health.
Ruth OgdenProfessor of the Psychology of Time, Liverpool John Moores University and Daniel Eduardo BigoSenior Researcher, Chronobiology; Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina
This article is reprinted from conversation Published under a Creative Commons license. Original article.
