Britt Thomas W, Sytine Anton, Brady Ashley, Wilkes Russ, Pittman Rebecca, Jennings Kristen, Goguen Kandice
Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017 Aug 1;88(8):779-783. doi: 10.3357/AMHP.4875.2017.
Numerous authors have identified the stressors likely to be encountered on long duration space exploration missions (e.g., to Mars), including the possibility of significant crises, separation from family, boredom/monotony, and interpersonal conflict. Although many authors have noted that meaningful work may be beneficial for astronauts on these missions, none have detailed the sources of meaningful work for astronauts and how these sources may differ between astronauts. The present article identifies how engagement in meaningful work during long duration missions may mitigate the adverse effects of demands and increase the potential for benefits resulting from the missions.
Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine NASA personnel, including astronauts, flight directors, and flight surgeons. Questions addressed sources of meaning for astronauts, characteristics of tasks that enhance vs. detract from meaning, and recommendations for enhancing meaning.
Personnel mentioned contributing to humanity and the next generation, contributing to the mission, and exploration as the most meaningful aspects of their work. Characteristics of tasks that enhanced meaning included using a variety of skills, feeling personal control over their schedule, autonomy in the execution of tasks, and understanding the importance of the experiments conducted on the mission. Top recommendations to sustain meaning were insuring social needs were met through such activities as the strategic use of social media, giving astronauts autonomy as well as structure, and conducting training during transit.
Implications are addressed for tailoring meaning-based interventions for astronauts participating on long duration missions and assessing the effectiveness of these interventions.Britt TW, Sytine A, Brady A, Wilkes R, Pittman R, Jennings K, Goguen K. Enhancing the meaningfulness of work for astronauts on long duration space exploration missions. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(8):779-783.
众多作者已确定了在长时间太空探索任务（如前往火星）中可能遇到的压力源，包括重大危机的可能性、与家人分离、无聊/单调以及人际冲突。尽管许多作者指出有意义的工作可能对执行这些任务的宇航员有益，但没有人详细说明宇航员有意义工作的来源以及这些来源在宇航员之间可能存在的差异。本文确定了在长时间任务中参与有意义的工作如何减轻需求带来的不利影响，并增加任务带来益处的可能性。
对九名美国国家航空航天局人员进行了半结构化访谈，包括宇航员、飞行主任和飞行外科医生。问题涉及宇航员意义的来源、增强或削弱意义的任务特征以及增强意义的建议。
工作人员提到为人类和下一代做出贡献、为任务做出贡献以及探索是他们工作中最有意义的方面。增强意义的任务特征包括运用多种技能、对自己的日程安排有个人掌控感、任务执行中的自主性以及理解任务中进行的实验的重要性。维持意义的首要建议是通过战略性使用社交媒体等活动满足社交需求、给予宇航员自主性和结构，以及在飞行过程中进行培训。
探讨了为参与长时间任务的宇航员量身定制基于意义的干预措施以及评估这些干预措施有效性的意义。
布里特·T·W、西廷·A、布雷迪·A、威尔克斯·R、皮特曼·R、詹宁斯·K、戈根·K。增强长时间太空探索任务中宇航员工作的意义。《航空航天医学与人类表现》。2017；88(8)：779 - 783。
