The astronauts arrived at the Mars base individually, clad in faded orange spacesuits. Once inside, they passed through a pressurized chamber and removed their helmets, only to be greeted with a decontaminating mist that was sprayed onto their faces. When cyclist Lance Armstrong entered the base, one of his comrades was amazed. Ariel Winter, an actor from Modern Family, mistakenly believed that Armstrong was Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. This mix-up marked the beginning of the inaugural season of Stars on Mars, a reality show on Fox that sent celebrities to a simulated ‘space’ experience in the Australian desert. The season finale of the show is set to air tonight.
Throughout the 12 episodes of the show, viewers have witnessed the participants living as Mars astronauts would, consuming freeze-dried meals and facing a 20-minute communication delay with Earth. They even engaged in activities like fertilizing potato crops with synthetic human waste, inspired by the film The Martian. The primary objective of the show is for contestants to work together and solve problems when unexpected situations arise, such as a communication tower malfunctioning, a robot dog needing rescue, or a garden fire in the habitat. If the group deems a participant to be non-essential to the mission, that person is eliminated. The ultimate prize for the winner is being crowned “the brightest star in the galaxy.”
Stars on Mars, like most reality TV shows, offers mindless entertainment and is cringe-worthy at times. However, it may be one of the most realistic reality shows to date. The endeavor of sending humans to Mars is a complex one that poses numerous challenges. We need to construct spaceships and rockets capable of reaching Mars, develop systems to shield astronauts from high radiation levels during the journey, and find sustainable ways for them to survive in the harsh Martian environment once they land. Stars on Mars sheds light on a critical aspect of long-duration spaceflight that is often overlooked: the dynamics within the crew itself, including their personalities, opinions, and emotions. Drama will undoubtedly unfold on Mars.
NASA and psychologists are well aware of this challenge and have been conducting space simulations on Earth for years to study cognitive performance, interpersonal interactions, and team dynamics in isolated and confined settings. The latest simulation, which began in June, involves four volunteers living in a 1,700-square-foot outpost for 378 days, only venturing outside in spacesuits, just like the participants on Stars on Mars. Traveling to Mars will mean spending seven long months enclosed with fellow crew members, making teamwork vital. Insights gained from these simulations will eventually contribute to guidelines for maintaining the mental and emotional well-being of astronauts during extended space missions, preventing conflicts among them.
Similar to reality-TV producers, researchers running simulations introduce challenging conditions like resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other stressors to assess how well the participants handle them. NASA has incorporated such stressors into its recent Mars experiment. In a 2017 simulation, NASA subjected four recruits to sleep deprivation inside a cramped habitat for 45 days to study the effects of crew fatigue. The participants reported that after only one week, their conversations had dwindled to mere grunts. This led to misunderstandings and a distorted perception of time, with one day feeling like an entire week. Irritations arose, and tensions escalated within the 650-square-foot space.
In 2018, I reported on a NASA-funded Mars simulation in Hawaii that had to be cut short after a participant suffered an electric shock. The other crew members provided aid and called emergency services, but when they heard an ambulance approaching, one of them attempted to exit the habitat without a spacesuit. The simulation’s commander intervened, warning them that their actions could compromise the experiment. Emotions ran high, resulting in a heated exchange. Eventually, the door was opened, allowing the responders inside.
Real-life astronauts on Mars may behave even more unpredictably because they won’t have the same level of oversight as those aboard the International Space Station or the moon. They will face numerous decisions without constant guidance from mission controllers, possibly even disregarding their approval. “That’s the complexity of humans. They are going to do things on their own, maybe outside of the mission rules,” said Jennifer Fogarty, the former chief scientist at NASA’s Human Research Program, which helped fund the terminated Mars simulation. “So thinking you can keep them in this tight little box of emotions is unrealistic.”
Unlike the participants on Stars on Mars, the crew of a genuine Mars mission would not consist of strangers. The astronauts will have undergone months or even years of training together and will have been carefully selected based on their skills and temperament. However, even with all the preparation, there are no guarantees for ensuring a harmonious experience. Raphael Rose, the associate director of UCLA’s Anxiety and Depression Research Center, explained that although crews can be carefully chosen, human behavior remains unpredictable.
Stars on Mars revealed some of these unpredictable aspects. While the conflicts on the show were mostly minor and expected, tensions occasionally soared. In one episode, Armstrong engaged in a conversation with fellow contestant, professional wrestler Ronda Rousey, where he stated his opinion that transgender athletes should not compete alongside cisgender athletes. The rest of the crew disagreed with him. Armstrong particularly clashed with Winter, and when Winter was chosen as the base commander, Armstrong threatened to quit, stating, “I’m not living in this hab another day with certain people.” He ultimately left a few episodes later. It seems clear that Armstrong may not have been suited for life on Mars.
Despite its celebrity-studded and dramatized nature, Stars on Mars could serve as a useful source of insights for planning crewed missions to Mars. Dwayne Day, a respected historian of the American space program, believes that the show could teach us about the personality traits best suited for expeditions beyond Earth, even though he was initially skeptical. According to Day, the show aligns with the requirements of a real space mission. A competent commander must base decisions on capability rather than personal preferences, and a crew member who fails to give their best effort during crucial tasks poses a safety risk.
Thankfully, psychologists and scientists do not need to solve the complexities of human relationships before a Mars mission can take place. The launch of a Mars spaceship is still many years, if not decades, away. However, if Stars on Mars is any indication, mission planners have their work cut out for them. Winter’s departure from the show earlier this month was accompanied by her expressing relief for having participated, although she referred to the experience as “a little bit of hell.” When humans finally reach Mars, they will be like aliens, navigating a world that was not designed to support creatures like us. Yet, we will remain inherently human.
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