Power Point presentation

GET TO KNOW OUR DR. STUSTER

 

QUESTIONS ASKED OF DR. STUSTER AND SOME OF THE ANSWERS

Laura P.: Has anyone gone insane on a shuttle flight? Is there more mental stress on a short duration space trip than a longer duration space trip such as one to Mars would be? Have more people become insane on a longer trip than a shorter one?

No one has gone insane or become seriously disturbed on a mission. Being disturbed or becoming seriously disturbed is common but becoming insane is exceedingly rare. If people are selected properly, it will not be likely to happen.

Michael E.: How do you get your information to put in your books?

Most of the research for Bold Endeavors involved reading about previous expeditions, including personal journals of the explorers and some secondary accounts.  I also reviewed technical reports that documented studies of psychological issues at Antarctic research stations, and I included information derived from my own original research involving isolation and confinement.  However, among the most useful sources of information were the personal interviews that I conducted with people who had lived and worked in conditions of isolation and confinement.

What will people on the Mars Mission trip do if someone gets lost in space?

Weather conditions can get people lost and keep them from doing a lot. Weather on Mars will affect human exploration as it did for Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery.  Dust Storms and solar flares will be the weather conditions on Mars and they will affect exploration.

How scared would the people be if they did not know where they were?  

They would be very scared.  It will be important to have good instruments and someone at the expedition base knowing where everyone is at all times.

What if the people on the Voyage did not like each other along the way?  

Wow, they better like each other because they will be together for a long time.  The compatibility of the crew will be established during years of training and simulation long before they depart for Mars.

Will the shuttle that goes to Mars be a normal one like the others?  

The type of space craft that will go to Mars will be very different from the shuttle. Aerodynamically it will be like a bunch of globular balls stuck together. The space craft will not be streamlined. There is no atmosphere from Earth to Mars. You Voyagers could even think about a design. This will be a totally new design. It will be redundant in the computer area: a main computer, a back up and a back up of the backup. Astronauts on the Space Station and shuttle missions might have to improvise and help out. Those on the voyage will have to have a real capability to fix things as well as trouble-shoot their electronics.

Mitch M.: How are people affected if they do not have the right clothes, are unable to get clean clothes, or take enough showers on a space voyage?

shower refreshes, washes away the pressures of the day. Water is a very scare commodity in a space craft, but it is important that the system provides full body showering. There would need to be a vacuum at the bottom of the shower in order to collect the water in the absence of gravity. The water will be purified and recycled.  People can endure for a long time without bathing or having clean clothes. However, clean clothes and showers really refresh one's mental state.

Anisha T.: What happens when rocks hit space shuttles? 

Even the tiniest meteoroid or piece of debris could penetrate the skin of a space craft because of very high the velocities involved.  Small holes could be patched, but collision with a larger object could be catastrophic.

Do astronauts use a regular toothbrush in space?

Yes.

Alison S.: Because they will need to take showers on the shuttle, what happens with the water from the showers? Will they reuse it?  

Everything will have to be recycled because they cannot come back to Earth for more.

Tracy M.: What makes people, who normally would get along just fine, mad at each other in space?

People, who would normally get along just fine, would not get along if they were not getting enough sleep.

Scott P.: If a team suddenly gets mad at each other and stops working together on a space mission, what would the Space Administration be able to do about it?

There are psychologists and physicians at the Johnson Space Center whose job is to monitor the space crew's behavior and to help them adjust to the conditions. These “psychological support” personnel would intervene via their radio communications if necessary.  But in the end, it will be up to the crew members themselves to work out any disagreements in a mature and professional manner. 

If the team did not get along and the only thing that was wrong was not enough sleep, what could be done to change that while they were in space? What else besides mental disorientation could happen to them if they did not get enough sleep?  

Sleep is so important. If noise or other things keep you from sleeping, medication would have to be available on board.  

Why does a person become disoriented or mentally unstable when the wall paper, sleep, or colors are not right or enough?  

Certain design features can contribute to adjustment, but few would actually cause a person to become mentally unstable, unless they interfered with sleep. 

Stefanie S.: If only one person is mad, would this affect the other people involved, especially in the areas of teamwork? What are you going to do to prevent things like this from happening?  

An unstable member of a crew can affect the performance of others.  If someone becomes disruptive, it might be necessary to sedate the person to prevent further jeopardy to the expedition. 

Zofi S.: What will happen if someone dies on the mission on Mars or in the Space Shuttle on the way there?  

There might be a burial like at sea except in space and very reverently. Maybe the same would happen on Mars. Except if you put the body out a hole it would accompany you on the flight in full view out the window. So you would have to wait until you got to Mars. You would want to mark the body so it could be found if you buried it on Mars.  

Colleen C.: What will happen to you if you are stuck in a room like the shuttle with people being mean to you? Will you react differently to this problem in Space than you would on Earth?  

Situations or statements that would mean nothing at home are blown out of proportion in isolation. You have to have a time by yourself, a bunk or sleep bunk where you can get away to be by yourself, close your eyes, or do something without people around.  

Ellen H.: What inspired you to write your book?  

The person who handled the launch operation took me to where launch pad was and I was so moved by the incredible technology that I swelled with pride to be there and knew that I wanted to remain involved with NASA.  

Why does the color of the walls affect you so much in space?  

The color of the walls, floor, and ceiling of a space craft can help a person's spatial orientation in the absence of gravity. 

Patrick B.: In choosing voyagers, astronauts, or expedition personnel for voyages into the unknown, what do you look for in that person?  

The ideal person for an expedition to Mars would score high on the Bold Endeavors Astronaut Quiz.

Rebecca P.: What happens if the astronauts on the Mars Mission run out of supplies? How would they get more?  

They will not run out. Their survival depends upon their planning carefully.  

Nikki D.: How long did it take you to do your research and write your book? 

The research was conducted over a period of ten years, and then I spent about ten months writing the first draft of the manuscript that became Bold Endeavors. 

Daniel M.: Did you always like to write? Who helped you in school decide that you wanted to be a writer and scientist?  

I did not always like to write. A teacher inspired me to be a scientist. In the Fifth Grade, a teacher gave me a book to read that his grandmother gave him to read. I wanted to learn more about technology and people of the world. I went to the University of California and as I was talking to a professor, he remembered something I had written and suggested that I apply for graduate school in Anthropology. I later started working for Anacapa Sciences. After the third shuttle mission, my company was hired to find out why it was taking so long for the crew to refurbish of the shuttle.  We found 22 ways that NASA could improve the process.  

Colby F.: What safeguards are in place if there is a computer failure on the shuttle? Will the astronauts improvise?  

All systems have two backups. If all three fail, the crew will improvise, and many technicians here on Earth will help. 

Are any necessary technical changes able to be made by the technicians on the ground at NASA? What do you have to study in school to be a shuttle computer expert and be involved in that room we see on television with all the computers and monitors when there is a launch?  

To be involved: you will have to be a good student, take computer science or electrical engineering. You could work for one of the many contractors that support NASA, or work directly for NASA. Not every person at mission control is a computer expert.  There are engineers, behavioral scientists, and physicians.  There are people with literature, history, and marketing degrees. For example, the people who inform the public about NASA are not scientists or engineers, but they perform a valuable service by helping to explain the reasons for space exploration. 

Voyager's Comments:

 Thank you Dr. Stuster, for working your tail off to help us learn about living in isolation and for being so generous with your time to help us learn, using new technology:  a phone conference and Power Point at the same time.

 You were so cool!!!!!!!!!!  I thought I would be really bored just hearing someone talk on the phone but you are so interesting and your subject is so different from any I have ever studied before that I had the best time ever. You really know how to talk to kids.  I had to leave early and hated missing one minute of this time with you.  I tried a Power Point project, but mine was not nearly as good as yours.   I really liked listening to someone in a different way, along with a Power Point presentation to look at.  I learned a lot more than by seeing someone talk.

 

I want to be like you someday;

touch and inspire people with my books.