[Ecopsychological investigations in 520-day isolation].

Assessment of the importance of higher plants for emotions and relations within the group of test-subjects was performed in the long-duration chamber experiment MARS-500 designed as an imitation of an exploration mission. It was shown that the degree of involvement with the plants dictated the magnitude and character of the ecopsychological effect. Subjects with high psychological stability and dominating introversion were more inclined to interact with plants. Remoteness of the greenhouse from recreation areas weakened the ecopsychological effect and denied the crew the opportunity to interact with plants. At the same time, the presence of the plant growth unit with decorative plants in the lounge had certainly a positive psychological effect. The crew gave preference to big bright flowers that did not demand much care. This observation should be taken into consideration by designers of psychological recreation environments. Choice of plants to be grown as a dietary supplement for the crew in isolation and confinement should be made with allowance for cultural preferences of crew members.

[Association between the person-unique individual behavior styles and the quality and reliability of operator's professional performance].

Among the prioritized objectives of maintaining psychophysiological safety in extended space missions is the buildup of crew professional reliability. Reliability of operator's performance hinges as on skills level, so personal working style. The purpose of the investigation was to penetrate into the patterns of association between a person-unique individual behavior style and quality and reliability of simulated professional operator's jobs. The investigation was part of the MARS-500 experiment (RF SSC - IBMP RAS, 2010-2011) and employed 2 procedures: the well-established manual vehicle control (Pilot-1) and a new one tasking with planetary surface exploration (VIRTU). Observation of individual work styles resulted in identification of 2 fundamentally different approaches to handling the operator's duties--reliable and innovative. It is noteworthy that a separate participant adhered to one and the same style when coping with either procedure. Also, personality traits predisposing to a concrete behavior were found, which confirms the hypothesis of deep personal nature of operator's work style that reveals itself consistently and isomorphically no matter the type of important job.

[Characteristics of the signal lag effect on crew--control center communications in the 520-day simulation experiment].

The 520-day experimental simulation of an exploration mission provided an opportunity to apply content analysis for studying the patterns of crew--Control center (CC) communication impeded by lag times. The period of high autonomy was featured by drastic reduction of the number of crew questions and requests which was judged as a marker of adaptation to the simulated space mission environment. The "key" events in the experiment changed the content of crew messages radically attesting to misperception of time, emotional involvement, want of CC feedback and draining out negative emotions. After the period of high autonomy with full loss of communication with controllers the traffic of crew messages onto the outside was noted to become very light which could also point to temporal changes in the communication style developed in the conditions of isolation and autonomous existence.

[Psychophysiological correlates of individual styles of professional operator's work].

One of the prioritized objectives of psychophysiological support for long-duration space missions is to strengthen professional reliability of cosmonauts. Operator's reliability is dependent as on skillfulness, so individual work style. PILOT-1 and VIRTU methods were used to study individual psychological characteristics and operator's strategy during project MARS500. The established two individual work styles (IWSs), i.e. control and search, reflect different types of reacting to stress. Combined analysis of these data and results of the "Mirror coordinograph" test showed invariance of IWSs no matter whether a task is complicated or simple. Operators demonstrating the "control" strategy are characterized by high initial mobilization readiness. Their reliability demands great physiological resources (high "cost"). Initial mobilization and physiological "cost" are lower in operators demonstrating the "search" work style. Dependent on the level of mobilization and motivation, their efficacy, in terms of quality and reliability specifically, is unstable in nature.

[Characteristics of crew communicative behavior and gonadal hormones excretion during long-term chamber isolation of international male crew].

The peculiarities of psycho-physiological adaptation to the simulation of the extended autonomous manned Mission to Mars with limited resources and external communication were studied. Verbal communication of the crew of 6 male subjects, representing Russian and European Space Agency with Mission Control (MC) as well as physiological correlates of 105-days life and work in the chambers under sensory deprivation, confinement, monotony and high autonomy were observed. Psychological, physiological and biochemical (urinary cortisol and gonadal hormones) testing together with content-analysis of the crew communication with MC were made in parallel. Gained results confirmed to a considerable extent the preliminary hypothesis about the serious impact of such stressful factors as intragroup conflict, significant decrease of the variety and scope of communication with the outer world and social pressure on the verbal behavior and hormonal excretion of the future Martian crew. For the first time correlation between the metabolism of the gonadal hormones and the volume, content and creativity of the verbal human behavior during various stages of adaptation to the extended isolation in the chambers.

[Psychophysiological adaptation and communication behavior of human operator during 105-day isolation].

Purpose of the study was to assess effects of 105-d isolation on language behavior and psychophysiological status of volunteered subjects. Software NOOJ was used to determine frequency of mentioning in written reports notions falling into the categories of "Needs", "Activity", "Negation" and "Social regulation". Well-being, activity and mood were assessed with the SAN questionnaire and urine cortisol measurement. Correlation of the content-analysis results with phases of adaptation to extended isolation and confinement made it possible to elicit specific features of language behavior of the small group members, at the time of simulated autonomy, specifically. Besides, the computerized content-analysis enabled a quantitative description of communication strategy as a function of psychophysiological adaptation to stressful factors of the simulation experiment.

[Style of communication between mission control centers and space crews].

The article deals with a pilot investigation into the audio communication of cosmonauts with ground controllers. The purpose was to verify in space flight the patterns and trends revealed in model tests of intergroup communication, and to pinpoint the signature of multinational crew communication with 2 national mission control centers (MCCs). The investigation employed authors' content-analysis adapted to the scenario of long-duration mission. The investigation resulted in a phenomenon of double-loop ground-orbit communication, divergence, difference in opinion predictable from the concept formulated by G.T.Beregovoi. Also, there was a notable difference of expressions used by controllers of 2 MCCs.

[Communication within the mission control-space crew loop: the socio-psychological aspects].

The object of the article is a pilot study of audio communication between space crew and ground operators. The experiment was to validate a new method of content-analysis of radio contacts in order to evaluate the socio-psychological aspects of communication as within the crew, so between the crew and the Mission control center. The study supported the supposition of V.I. Myasnikov that the most frequent and active spokesman is a formal or informal crew lead. Also, each national MCC evidently prefers to contact its own crew member.

[Individual style of communication with the outer world during long-term isolation]. / Individual'nyi stil' kommunikatsii s vneshnim mirom v usloviiakh dolgovremennoi izoliatsii.

Crew communication with ground controllers is a source of information for diagnostics of mood, mental performance and mutual understanding within space crew. The article analyzes results of dynamic observation of communication of small groups isolated from the outer world during project SFINCSS-99 performed at RF SSC-IBMP in 1999-2000 with the purpose to simulate life and interrelations within ISS crews. The project evidenced that some communication manners featured personal strategies of adaptation to the extreme conditions. A modified procedure of communication content-analysis proved to be a success in remote psychodiagnostics and to bear promise for analysis of crew personality and inter-relationship during space flight.

[Certain principles of Mars mission crew life and the organization of the performance]. / Nekotorye pritnsipy organizatsii zhiznedeiatel'nosti ékipazha marsianskoi ékspekitsii.

Article is devoted to some new aspects of biomedical support and countermeasures during a manned Mars mission. Significant differences in crew--Mission control interaction in a Martian and orbital flight are described. Special attention is paid to the problem of the Martian crew autonomy and decision-making. The authors give some practical recommendations for improvement of the space flight medical support system existing in Russia to meet the needs of a Martian expedition.

[Dynamics of interrelationship in a small group during long-term hypokinesia]. / Dinamika vzaimootnoshenii v maloi gruppe v usloviiakh dlitel'noi gipokinezii.

Effects of low activity of test-subjects during antiorthostatic hypokinesia on the intragroup structure as well as the semantic composition and the directionality of estimation criteria selected by test-subjects to describe the system of attitudes to oneself and others, and their impact on individual status in the social structure of the group have been studied. It was shown that maintaining of a definite level of individual activity of members is important for the group structure and successful adaptation of test-subjects to the unfavourable factors of hypokinesia. The degree of the ego image integrity and dominance of criteria that infer empathy and positive feelings within the system of individual appraisements determine the social status of a group member. The psychologic signs of a "apet" (psychologically close) and a "outsider" (psychologically strange) members of the group have been revealed.

[Evaluation of alternations in mental performance due to the effect of extended isolation]. / Vliianie dlitel'noí izoliatsii na psikhicheskuiu rabotosposobnost'.

Dynamics of mental performance, critical periods of adaptation, and cognitive processes were studies in conjunction with extended experimental isolation. Training to simple motor skills was found to be less impeded by prolonged isolation as opposed to operations requiring active involvement of higher psychic functions (memory, concentration, thinking). Experiments HUBES and ECOPSY strengthened the hypothesis concerning possible advent of critical periods in prolonged isolation impacting mental performance. They are the initial period (week 1 in isolation), emergency, arrival of visiting crews, and finishing two weeks. Effect of isolation was not so much evident from changes in absolute meanings of work parameters as from the reduction of their stability in time.

[On-board equipment-based study of psycho-physiological and biochemical responses dynamics of operators during 135-day isolation in the "Mir" orbital station phantom]. / Issledovanie s pomoshchíu bortovoí apparatury dinamiki psikhofiziologicheskikh i biokhimicheskikh reaktsií obsleduemykh v usloviiakh 135-sutochnoí izoliatsii v makete orbital'noí stantsii "Mir".

There present the investigative findings of the dynamics of psycho-physiological and biomedical responses of the test subjects during simulated emergencies at different stages of adaptation to 135-day isolation in the Mir orbital station mock-up. Ehe main operating factor of an emergency was the 2-day sleep deprivation in combination with the continuous complex and intensive operator work which included the elements of the professional activity of the cosmonauts, among them the simulation of the regular and emergency docking of the spacecraft. By and large the observed physiological responses were characterized by moderate degree of manifestation, they were of functional character and were adequate for the investigated experimental conditions. The impaired quality of performing the applied psychophysiological tests and what is especially important the operations simulating the cosmonauts, professional activity in the extreme emergency conditions is noteworthy. Judging from some indicators the manifestation was dictated by the duration of operator isolation in the Mir orbital station mock-up and by the duration of a contingency simulation. In the degree of manifestation and in the time of development some changes in the state and working capacity of the operators were characterized by the individual differences.

[The dynamics of communicative interaction of the crew with outside parties during long-term isolation]. / Dinamika kommunikativnogo vzaimodeistviia ékipazha s vneshnimi abonentami v usloviiakh dlitel'noi izoliatsii.

Analyzed were indices of communicative activity of crew members during audio- and computer sessions in order to assess status and effectiveness of communicative interaction of crew with external parties. The investigation gave another evidence that an isolated small group develops "closing" and "internal censorship" in contacts with outer personnel. The conclusion was based on limited in intensity, number, topical spectrum and outer companion preference communication. These appeared to be parallel to egocentrism manifested by claims on supreme concern, sensitivity to speech tones and matter of massages of outer supporters, and attempted manipulation with the outer personnel. In the course of the experiment, the subjects were getting more into the habit to use the information channels for expansion of their emotional contacts and "dumping" emotions. Differential attitude to different duty teams and selective manner of communication underlie differences in the intensity of crew-ground personnel communication.

[Dynamics of subjective perception of in-group interaction during long-term isolation and confinement]. / Dinamika sub"ektivnogo vospriiatiia vzaimootnoshenii v ekipazhe v usloviiakh dlite'lnoi izoliatsii.

In experiments HUBES and ECOPSY-95 small groups of test-subjects under the conditions of long-term isolation and confinement were noted to split into two fairly stable parts each consisting of two crew members and an "outsider". Strain in the interaction between the "outsider" and the crew tended to grow in acuity as was evidenced by rise in the criteria describing behavior of a small group, and relationship. In both experiments the background for the conflict-threatening strain appeared to be a disintegrated ego-image in both of the "outsiders". Generally, infantilism of ego-image was in hand with hand with low self-assessment. Development by the subjects of ineffective patterns of the attitude system which we consider to be "escape back to the past" and "disintegration" of ego-image overlapped with the most psychologically challenging periods in the experiments, i.e. the start and the end of isolation and confinement, and off-nominal situations.

[Methods of computerized diagnosis of operators' mental performance]. / Metodika komp'iuterizovannoi diagnostiki psikhicheskoi rabotosposobnosti operatorov.

Described is a computerized technique for assessment of psychic performance. It includes a battery of tests in the form of computer games to score recent memory, attention, cognitive power, spatial awareness, and oculomotor orientation. The game-type tests and the possibility of feedback enforce motivation for diagnostic testing. The technique can be advantage for artificial or extreme environments as it can be fulfilled by subjects themselves without assistance of expert.

[The effect of motivational and emotional aspects of work on the structure of operator's errors]. / Vliianie motivatsionno-émotsionalnykh aspektov deiatelnosti na strukturu oshibok operatora.

The paper studies a motivation effect on an effectiveness of occupational activities of the operators with a different level of anxiety. To do this, the role of professional motivation under co-existence of competing motives as well as the dynamics of interactions of the operators with different level of anxiety under complicated working conditions have been studied. It is indicated that the results of operator activity depends on hierarchical structure of motivation sphere. Emotional tension induced by the main motive may lead to an increment of by-work failures. In a motives conflict situation highly anxious operators are more immune to disturbances than the low anxious persons. A reliability of joint activity of the operators exhibiting a close level of anxiety is higher than in operators with different values of an anxiety level.

Concept of "Medilab" orbital bio-medical laboratory.

This paper discusses goals and objectives of the Soviet project to build an orbital bio-medical laboratory "Medilab". Special attention is given to the programme of scientific and practical use, design, structure and information support of the dedicated space laboratory.

[MEDILAB and the problems of psychophysiological support of manned space flights]. / MEDILAB i problemy psikhofiziologicheskogo obespecheniia pilotiruemykh kosmicheskikh poletov.

This paper discusses current problems of psychophysiological support of manned space missions and presents the concept of a psychophysiological complex of the orbital biomedical laboratory Medilab and other advanced space vehicles based on new methodological approaches. The paper describes principles of selection of psychophysiological methods to be used in Medilab programs as well as their instrumental, mathematical, hardware and software structures.