American scientists found an effective laboratory for studying space teamwork at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. While the Antarctic does not simulate space, it provides the opportunity to study people's reactions to an alien and isolated place -- the kinds of reactions that are likely to occur on a long journey to Mars.
At first life isn't so bad. Stark, untouched beauty is all around. Great auroral ribbons of light ripple across the sky. The few people who go to McMurdo are part of a great adventure, but then the endless isolation and unrelenting night begin to crack the psyche.
People begin to feel like prisoners. The curse of the long eye -- the twelve-foot stare in a ten-foot room -- develops. Some people grow murderous or suicidal, and a few have been known to take a stroll outside never to return. Those are extreme cases, but the isolation and stress do begin to affect one's work. People begin to collect data incorrectly. They take longer to do their work and sometimes don't hear or see what they should. Their stomachs and joints ache, concentration wanes; they can't sleep; they grow increasingly irritable, aggressive, withdrawn, and anxious. Even the most stable people are affected, and everyone must learn to adjust.
To cope with the alien isolation of the Antarctic some shave their heads or let their hair grow long; some play match-maker for their huskies and hold mock weddings; some mount elaborate productions with men made up as women; some create their own language. As the survival instinct kicks in, humans create outlets for psychological stresses and find novel ways of fulfilling their emotional needs.
Studies in the Antarctic laboratory help scientists anticipate responses that could endanger a Mars mission, and suggest ways to prepare a crew. Investigating human reactions to isolation flags problems in advance. Since surprises in space are dangerous, the Antarctic laboratory is part of the thorough scientific preparation for a Mars mission.
