People challenges in biospheric systems for long-term habitation in remote areas, space stations, moon, and Mars...

People who participate in remote and difficult expeditions, such as the 2-year (1991-1993) Biosphere 2 experiment or a future biospheric system on Mars or other long voyages, will face individual psycho-physiological, social, and cultural value challenges. The individual psycho-physiological vectors include the lure of being a hero/heroine and pushing it to the maximum, concealment of problems with the belief that he/she can overcome the obstacle alone, as well as the difficulty of keeping intact the critical differentiation of the risks associated with the overall expedition as opposed to the experimental objectives. The social challenges occur as a group dynamic context as well as for the individual, resulting in regressions and the need to "act out" one's difficulties. Cultural areas of importance that must be taken into consideration will include esthetic, ethical, cosmological, and epistemological values. The epistemological values must involve the five methods of scientific inquiry for a comprehensive total systems project to succeed fully.