Team Self-Maintenance during Long-Duration Space Exploration: A Conceptual Framework

Area of Science:

• Space exploration psychology
• Human factors in extreme environments
• Team dynamics in isolation

Background:

• Long-duration space exploration (LDSE) and isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments pose unique challenges to crew well-being.
• Routine and lack of external support can negatively impact crew psychological health and performance.
• Team Self-Maintenance (TSM) is essential for mitigating these detrimental effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a conceptual framework for Team Self-Maintenance (TSM) specifically for long-duration space exploration (LDSE).
• To define TSM as the process of monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining team psychological well-being autonomously.
• To identify key components enabling TSM in the absence of external support.

Main Methods:

• An integrative conceptual framework was developed.
• Data collection involved nine subject matter expert interviews.
• An extensive literature review on related concepts was conducted.

Main Results:

• The TSM framework identifies team well-being as a critical outcome in LDSE.
• Key enabling processes include information sharing, self-regulation, resource recovery, and emotional support.
• Contextual inputs were identified as potential intervention points for effective TSM.

Conclusions:

• Future LDSE research and practice should prioritize team well-being alongside performance.
• Significant questions remain regarding how teams manage socio-emotional needs autonomously.
• The developed framework provides a foundation for understanding and supporting TSM in LDSE contexts.