Cut off from civilization and plunged into darkness for several months of the year, crews manning research stations in the southernmost tip of the Earth — Antarctica — have to contend with sensory deprivation, loneliness and bone-dry conditions.
The barren landscape is often dubbed “White Mars.”
Now, Canadian researchers, with new support from the Canadian Space Agency, are collaborating on a global research project to study the effects of living in these harsh conditions in the hopes of helping astronauts in future space missions.
In many ways, life in this sprawling desert mimics life in outer space, says Peter Suedfeld, a UBC psychology professor emeritus involved in one of the studies. The natural environment is dangerous and safe return is never certain; medical care is limited; it’s hard to get away from irritating crew mates; and there are long stretches of empty time punctuated by bursts of hard work.
“How do people’s psychological processes go when they’re down there for a whole year? There’s very little in the way of quantitative data,” Suedfeld said.
The studies are being carried out by crew members at two research stations on opposite ends of the continent. They will feed data to scientists in Europe and Canada. The Concordia station, run by the French and Italian polar institutes, consists of two elevated cylindrical towers, while the Halley station, run by the British Antarctic Survey, consists of a series of linked four-legged pods that would not look out of place in a sci-fi movie.
The European Space Agency has been sponsoring a variety of experiments to examine how this hostile environment can affect crew members’ bodies and minds. Studies are looking at how their eyes adapt to prolonged darkness, how sleep patterns might be altered and whether brain function changes.
In another experiment, crew members are asked to record weekly audio diaries. European researchers then analyze their pitch, rhythm and speed for signs of stress.
Canadian researchers are now contributing four new studies thanks to a $1.7-million investment by the Canadian Space Agency.
Suedfeld will analyze the content of the audio diaries, listening for the emotions they express and topics they bring up. Do they like their colleagues? Do they ask for help to solve problems or work on their own? Suedfeld hopes to begin analyzing recorded dinner-table conversations in the near future.
Meanwhile, researchers at Simon Fraser University and the University of Ottawa, are carrying out tests in which subjects are confined to an inclined bed for prolonged periods to mimic weightlessness in space to see the effects on their cardiovascular systems, muscle function and bone marrow cells.
Interviews and blog posts from people who have spent time at the research stations show life can be challenging.
British medical doctor Alexander Kumar told the BBC in 2014 that while Concordia crew members had Internet and telephone access, there was a tendency to withdraw during the long winter.
“Overwintering crew members regress further into their own rooms and minds, which can be dangerous,” he said.
The senses also become blunted with the dearth of sights and smells.
“It’s almost as if our senses become under-stimulated and wither in the darkness, ice and silence. So when a new stimuli comes along it can be disproportionately fascinating. It has been some time since I stubbed my toe walking around the station barefooted in the dark. But I can tell you it hurt each and every time, even more.”
In a blog post from Concordia last winter, Beth Healey, another British doctor, wrote that even though the temperature outside was -80 C, the biggest challenge was sleep.
“With no point of reference I regularly find myself wide awake in the middle of the night and falling asleep at lunch!” she wrote. “We are offered UV lights and vitamin supplements in an attempt to counteract this.”
A few weeks later, she noted everyone was in better spirits as the sun rose again above the horizon.
“We greeted it as if it was a long lost friend,” she wrote.
For some, the transition back to civilization can take awhile, Suedfeld said. “In fact a fair number of people say the culture shock is greater coming back than it was going there,” he said.
But they also return having spent time in an “awesomely beautiful” environment and with a potentially fresh outlook on life, he said. They’ve made new friendships and tested their resilience, courage and creativity like never before.
Suedfeld noted these studies have the potential to benefit humans on Earth, particularly those living in remote northern communities or working in logging or mining camps.
They could also spur new ideas for how to make old-age homes — which can often be isolating for seniors — more pleasant, he said.