OPTIMIZING CREW PERFORMANCE IN LONG DURATION SPACE EXPLORATION: BEST PRACTICES FOR TEAM TRAINING AND COHESION MEASUREMENT

Much research has focused on the physical needs of space exploration crews; yet, less attention has been given to their psychological/social adjustment and performance. Future long duration spaceflight (LDSF) explorations (e.g., Mars) will not only break previous records for duration, confinement, and isolation [1] , but will also require collaboration, cooperation, and communication across diverse crew members, agencies, and disciplines [2,3] . When team performance relies on such seamless interdependence, minor breakdowns can threaten not only the psychological/biological health of individual team members, but also overall mission success. For example, team cohesion factors were noted contributors in both the Challenger and Columbia shuttle accidents [4] .