Sunita Williams is currently stuck on the International Space Station (ISS), waiting to return to Earth.
Two astronauts stranded in space may sound like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, but for two NASA crew members it is now a reality. Commander Barry Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams are currently in limbo on the International Space Station (ISS).
They arrived in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft – the spaceship’s first test with astronauts. Wilmore and Williams would stay on the ISS for about eight days and return on the same spacecraft. But there is now discussion about the safety of Starliner after experiencing it helium leaks and bow thruster problems on the way to the ISS.
In the coming days, NASA and Boeing may decide to release Starliner to return the astronauts to Earth. This means that their stay may not last too long. But if officials decide not to use Starliner, the astronauts will have to wait another six months in orbit before you return. So how do astronauts deal with a potential six-month wait for a ride home?
Waiting for things is hard in the best of times. Under normal circumstances this is the case frustrating, stressful and anxiety-inducing. But in extreme situations, where a lot is at stake, waiting can be a purgatory.
Part of the reason waiting is difficult is that it distorts our sense of time. Think about the last time you waited for a delayed train, test results, or a text from a potential new partner. Did it fly by or get dragged? For most people, time spent waiting creeps up at a glacial pace. As a result, delays and periods of anticipation often feel much longer than they actually are.
Waiting slows down our perception of time because it changes the amount of time we spend think about time. During normal daily life, we often ignore time; our brains have a limited capacity. If time isn’t important, we just don’t think about it, and this makes it pass quickly.
When we wait, our desire to know when the wait is over increases the extent to which we think about time. This ‘clock-watching’ can make the minutes and hours feel as if they are passing by at a snail’s pace. Stress, discomfort and pain exacerbate this effect, causing waiting in difficult situations may seem even longer.
Waiting also slows down our perception of time because it determines what we do and how we feel. Normal life is busy and full of ever-changing activities and interactions. The sudden need to wait stops the flow of life, often leaving us with nothing else to do, increasing levels of boredom and frustration.
In general, time is filled with activity passes faster. We were all able to taste this during COVID lockdowns. When we were stuck indoors, unable to see friends and engage in normal daily activities, the loss of routine and distractions made time drag on for many.
For the astronauts stuck on the ISS, worries about when they will return, limited options for activities and fewer opportunities to connect with friends and family make the wait to return home seem significantly longer than six months – if it would come to this.
However, as academics researching the effects of time on human psychology and biology, our ongoing work with crew members at research stations in Antarctica aims to shed light on whether waiting in extreme environments is different from waiting during normal everyday life.
A year in Antarctica
While a six-month stay on the ISS may sound like many people’s worst nightmare, it is not uncommon for scientists to spend long periods of time isolated and confined in extreme environments. Every year, organizations such as the Instituto Antártico Argentino (which uses the Belgrano II Antarctic Station), the French Polar Institute and the Italian Antarctic Programme, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (all using the Concordia station in Antarctica) , crews of people for up to 16 months to conduct research on the frozen continent.
From March to October polar winterteams spend six months in near darkness – and from May to August, in complete darkness – with outside temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius, winds of 160 km/h (100 mph) and storms that prevent almost all outdoor activities. Limited internet coverage can also prevent continued communication with the outside world.
Over the past year we have investigated how life in Antarctica influences people’s perception of time. Each month we asked crew members how time felt like it was passing compared to before their mission. Trapped on the base, with limited contact with the outside world, you would expect time to drag on. However, our results suggest that the opposite may be true.
Analysis of crew members’ experiences showed that constantly working on complex tasks, such as scientific research, made time pass quickly, with 80% of crew responses showing. Only 3% of respondents reported that time actually dragged on, and these reports occurred when the nights were long and there was little to do.
These experiences may offer hope for those trapped on the ISS. Just like life on an Antarctic station, these NASA astronauts lead busy and mentally demanding lives. These factors can contribute to time passing quickly.
However, a key factor of their waits may be their ability tolerate the uncertainty when they come back. Wilmore and Williams will spend their time in a space equivalent to the in a Boeing 747 aeroplane. But better information about “when” things will happen and “why” delays occur can help people tolerate waiting and reduce its impact on their well-being.
(Authors:Ruth Ogdenprofessor of Time Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University And Daniel Eduardo VigoSenior researcher in chronobiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Argentina)
(Disclosure Statement: Ruth Ogden receives funding from The British Academy, The Wellcome Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council, CHANSE and Horizon 2020. This piece was written as part of the Wellcome Trust Project “After the End” 225238/Z/22/Z. The work reported in this article is taking place in collaboration with ESA and IIA as part of the SPACE-TIME project. Daniel Vigo is a National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) research career awardee and a senior professor at the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA). The work reported in this article is being carried out as part of a collaboration between UCA, CONICET, the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA), the Joint Antarctic Command and the Health Coordination of the Ministry of Defense, under an agreement signed between the European Space Agency (ESA), the IAA and the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE)
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