A review of the psychological aspects of space flight

Abstract

Instances of overt, serious functional impairment of space crews caused by adverse psychologic responses have not been scientifically documented. However, transient disorientation, spatial illusions, and visual disturbances as well as anomalous myopias, sleep disturbances, and instances of substandard performance have been described. Moreover, anecdotal information describes significant psychologic aberrations in space flight. Adequate scientific data are lacking for optimal psychological and psychophysiological methods for crew selection, training, and performance evaluation, for identifying key psychosocial factors for crew compatibility, cohesiveness, and productivity, and for determining the effects of space flight on perceptual, intellectual, and motor skills. The ad hoc Working Group, convened to review psychological aspects of space flight, favored establishment of a comprehensive research and development program to address the deficiencies identified in the study.