Mars Mission Travel Log: Day 153

Entry by Captain Lee, aboard the Muskian VII

November 12, 2037- 08:38 PM JST: Mars’ red expanse appears as a faint yet evergrowing dot on the horizon, mocking us as our 5 month journey starts to fray. The 2nd oxygen recycler failed again today, and Pilot Jaxon’s emotional outburst, angrily yelling in panic, shattered our fragile calm. It was hard to stay clearheaded enough to diagnose the mechanical problem while keeping an eye on his erratic behavior. Engineer Rogers couldn’t figure out why it broke and gave up midway through a shoddy repair job. Roy the Youtuber is unbearably annoying with his constant extraverted yapping in this confined capsule. We need total cooperation to fix this air recycler issue while simultaneously piloting the craft, yet this crew just cannot get along. Cabin fever tightens its grip, and I hope no one snaps. Every little inconsiderate habit feels amplified in this space hut- Timothy directly staring at me, Fernando absentmindedly whistling, Dimitri not using the air vent when flatulating. I often suppress my rage at their lack of sensitivity for others. I wonder if the cold vacuum of space is better than being trapped here with these idiots. If we make it back to Earth in one piece, I will sue whoever selected these crew members.

The Space Age has begun. Elon’s reusable SpaceX rockets and the many space companies he has inspired around the world has turned our sci-fi space colonization fantasies into an economically feasible reality to be realized in the upcoming decades. Humanity tingles with excitement at the prospects of multiplanetary life. Yet, the psychological and sociocultural aspects of deep space missions and otherworldly colonization remain poorly understood by most. We assume we can just transplant our local communities and friend groups directly into a multi-year space voyage, or into a fledgling Mars base, and expect to socially function as we usually do. But that is not the case. How do you know you would stay sane during a year long space voyage in a cramped starship far away from civilization? Is everyone equally suited for such an endeavor? Spacetravel researchers discovered that having certain personality traits and sociocultural values are critical to survive and function cohesively in such extreme environments.

What is psychologically and socially challenging about space tra...

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