Bold Endeavors: Lessons from Polar and Space Exploration Paperback – Illustrated, 1 Jan. 2011

Stuster’s book resonates, even for those far from contemplating a mission to Mars or the polar icecap. Anyone who has had to endure the ‘pressure cooker’ environments of isolated small groups, long periods away from home, or the stresses of being controlled from afar, let alone many other more mundane experiences of life, will be able to relate. This is a fascinating documented insight into living in challenging isolation and recommendations for the future. The author draws from experiences of the past, especially long stays in Polar Regions from the late nineteenth century onwards (but curiously not from other parallel experiences, such as life in prison). Experience from long arctic winters, space flights, long duration submarine patrols and the like, has highlighted problems of depression, hostility, sleep disorders, and impaired cognition. He lists fifteen key practical factors of ‘habitability’. In the case of sleep and sleep management, teams need to work in synchronisation and avoid sleep disturbance or excessive sleeping; coordinated sleep patterns must take precedent over ‘free cycling’ from normal circadian rhythms. ‘Zeitgebers’ are used to influence patterns. Other factors include: clothing; exercise (e.g. 2 hours per day); workload and managing abrupt changes; the effects of stress on performance and best ways of reducing it; medical and psychological assistance; décor and personalisation; the importance of good food, occasional special dinners and the occasional drink, and the importance of the role of the cook in relation to all others; group interaction; personal hygiene, especially the pleasure of occasional showers; the challenges related to outside communications; personnel selection; personal space and privacy. On page 129 there are telling before-and-after photos of three participants in the 1888-9 Belgica Antarctic winter-over, the very first of its kind. Lethargy develops in nights lasting months. He cites Weber’s Law; the more grubby and odiferous one is, the more grubby and odiferous one needs to become before noticing. People put on weight - up to 30 pounds and pot bellies develop. There is deprivation, which includes lack of privacy and personal space, coupled with the permanent challenge of ensuring effective team coordination. Participants need to suppress their individual quirks. Subgroups can form and create negative effects. There are even curious evolutionary by-products; submariners becoming cross-eyed because of their lack of use of far sight, and are advised to refrain from driving for three days once back on shore. This is a valuable, fascinating and enlightening insight.