This article was originally published on The conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights
Elisa Raffaella Ferrè, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway
For the first time in 11 years, the European Space Agency (ESA) is recruiting new astronauts. Applications will open on March 31, 2021 for eight weeks, followed by a six-stage selection process to identify the next generation of European astronauts.
By 2030, humans will again be walking on the surface of the moon, traveling to Mars, and potentially enjoying suborbital vacations. The new space age will bring enormous benefits to all of us. It will boost technologies as we find ways to live sustainably beyond planet Earth, it will create exciting jobs and it will create new socio-economic opportunities.
Recruiting new astronauts is the first step in this new era of human space exploration. Many people may have dreamed of becoming an astronaut from childhood, but do you have what it takes?
Related: How to Become an Astronaut
The criteria
Becoming an astronaut is neither easy nor easy. Esa is looking for candidates with different profiles and backgrounds. However, there are some minimum requirements.
The candidates must have knowledge of scientific disciplines, with a university degree in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering or medicine. They must have demonstrated operational and leadership skills and preferably flying experience. However, there are many other skills that can be a real asset to selection, such as wilderness experience, teamwork and adaptability, self-control, and proficiency with languages.
This time, Esa opens up her criteria regarding the physical ability of applicants, and encourages people with physical disabilities to apply if they meet the requirements otherwise. This is part of a project investigating how best to adapt space travel to disabled astronauts.
Related: 15 space tips from an astronaut
The physical challenges
Technological advancements have not only allowed us to bring people to space, but also to live in space.
However, these longer space missions will pose far greater challenges to human health and performance than the challenges astronauts currently face. Unprecedented distance, duration, isolation and increasingly autonomous operations will be combined with long-term exposure to a different kind of gravity than Earth – such as weightlessness or the partial gravity on the Moon and Mars.
Space is a hostile environment to human health, with extreme temperatures, lack of atmospheric pressure, microgravity, solar and galactic cosmic rays, and super-fast micrometeorites.
Radiation is considered one of the most threatening hazards in space. On Earth, the planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from most of the particles that make up the radiant environment of space. Even brief exposure to space radiation can be very dangerous to health. Radiation has been shown to increase cancer risk, damage the central nervous system, alter cognitive functions, decrease motor control, and affect behavior.
Read more: An astronaut got a blood clot in space – now our research shows how best to protect the crew
Transitioning from Earth’s gravity to another is also trickier than it sounds. Exposure to non-terrestrial gravity leads to dramatic structural and functional changes in human physiology, including changes in the cardiovascular, neural, and musculoskeletal system.
For example, penetrating microgravity removes pressure from body tissues, drawing moisture from the legs to the upper body and head – you may have noticed astronauts’ swollen faces. As a result, vision deteriorates due to the pressure changes in the brain. Changes have been noted in the muscles, which shrink and absorb extra tissues due to their lack of use, and in the bones, which lose about 15% of their structural density.
The mental challenges
One of the most critical problems people face during long-term space flights is cognitive, psychological and psychosocial challenges. Living with other people for a long time in a small space, far from home, in microgravity, is not an easy task.
Dealing with microgravity is extremely difficult for the human brain. During the first days of weightlessness, between 40% and 60% of astronauts experience a condition called space adaptation disease. This causes symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, headache, cold sweats, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. The consequences range from mild discomfort to reduced cognitive performance. For this reason, no activities with additional vehicles or spacewalks are allowed during the first few days of space missions.
Read more: Astronauts are isolated experts, here’s what they can teach us
Psychosocial changes have also been observed in astronauts. Some have shown a reduced ability to communicate, fewer interactions with other crew members, and a tendency to be more self-focused. Motivational decline, fatigue, and social tension can easily be caused by isolation and confinement in an extremely demanding and life-threatening environment.
Not surprisingly, space agencies pay attention to cognitive and psychological requirements when selecting new astronauts. Candidates must demonstrate good reasoning skills, memory and concentration, the ability to work with others, a low level of aggression and emotional stability to cope with the level of stress and emergencies that may arise during space flights.
Prolonged spaceflight has revealed many challenges for crews operating in a space environment. Years of physical and psychological training, as well as in-flight medical and operational support, will equip astronauts with excellent tools to cope with the stresses of the space flight environment. It’s not an easy job, but certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This article has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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