Depressed Astronauts Might Get Computerized Solace

alphadogg writes "Clinical tests on a four-year, $1.74 million project for NASA, called the Virtual Space Station, are expected to begin in the Boston area by next month. The effort is designed to address the onset of depression in astronauts while they are in outer space. In the project, sponsored by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, a recorded video therapist guides astronauts through a widely used depression therapy called 'problem-solving treatment.'" Here's a related story from a few weeks ago. Those astronauts got it rough.

Comments

Re:Depressed astronauts?

[Spazztastic]

And furthermore depression is evident when working in close proximity with others. There's no escape, you can't go and do anything really private. Hell, how are you supposed to do something as simple as crank out out when you have to worry about catching it all or it may jam an instrument panel?

Best job in the world? I disagree. I'd rather win the lottery and do nothing for the rest of my years then be an astronaut. That is if I could choose :)

Companionship

[chill]

How about just flying up the occasional prostitute for "group therapy"? They could do what they do with astronauts and rotate which country she is from, etc.

Re:Companionship

[Chyeld]

Yeah, that's just what we need.

One fuck up in contraception and all the sudden you've got the first interstellar birth with a kid that's doomed to spend the rest of their life on another planet, the mom and/or it doesn't die. You want to think about how hard it is to get baby vomit out of instrumentation?

Or are we going to try the Chinese route and sterlize everyone going up? I'm sure that'll help the ranks of volunteers swell.

Or hey! Here's an idea, shove the possibility of romance related tensions into missions where people are already going to be living almost right on top of each other. I'm sure between the stress of the mission, the complete lack of privacy, and love triangles there couldn't possibly be anything that could go wrong there.

After Lisa Hardwick flipped out over her relationship issues on the ground, you really think NASA has enough of a pulse on their people that they can pick the right group that won't snap up there?

Re:Companionship

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, wake up please! There are these things called virtual, machine assisted and non-vaginal sex which all together should suffice for 1,5 years of Mars trip. Sex toy makers could approach NASA in a form of future contractors, instead of spam for a change. Hygiene could be a problem (to be solved by the contractors), however.

Re:Depressed astronauts?

[Chyeld]

Dear me, what a quaint and outdated view of what depression is and how it works. Are you one of those people who assume that addiction is merely a matter of will power? Or are you and Tom Cruise shacking up together to discuss the fallacies of modern psychology.

Thank you for reminding us how people treated the ill back in the 1800's.

Re:Depressed astronauts?

[Vellmont]

Wake up whenever you want. Get fed at regular intervals. The only job requirement is that you show a modicum of glee when your owner is around. What does a dog get depressed about?

Dogs are not people (or specifically, not you) and they don't share what you out of life. The breeds we have were bred for certain jobs like herding, hunting, or killing vermin. In general they weren't bred to be companion dogs. They desperately want to do this job and without that fulfillment, they have problems. I don't know if that specifically can cause depression, but I could see it.

I guess my point is, without actually having BEEN a dog or an Astronaut on a space station, it's difficult to know exactly what they go through. So I wouldn't be so quick to judge.

Right....

[argStyopa]

" the project, sponsored by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, a recorded video therapist guides astronauts through a widely used depression therapy called 'problem-solving treatment.'""

On Earth, we just call it porn.

Reminds me of a story about Apollo astronauts

[Darth_brooks]

I remember hearing a story about several of the Apollo astronauts experiencing problems with depression. I guess after walking on the freaking moon, making gravy train money on the lecture circuit doesn't give you the same sense of accomplishment.

I guess in this case Willy Wonka was full of shit. Getting everything you want in life doesn't always lead to "happily ever after"

Addiction is a matter of willpower

[GuloGulo]

Addiction is a matter of willpower. Find me an addict who has kicked and stayed clean for a length of time who doesn't directly reference their own willingness to quit as a determinant.

That doesn't mean it's only about willpower, but your claim simply has no merit.

Submariners might be better

[TheLink]

"Never underestimate several people in a small capsule farting over many days"

That's the thing, perhaps NASA is selecting from the wrong pool of people to put into small capsules for long periods of time.

Instead of picking from the usual air force sort of people maybe they should be picking candidates from nuclear submarines.

Might be easier to find a submariner that can be trained to fly than to find an air force sort of person willing to put up with being stuck in a claustrophobic tube for months with no way out except "Mission over" or death.

Interplanetary lag

[NotQuiteReal]

The lag one would have in a spacecraft to Mars would make me even more depressed.

I just call it supid.

[Roadkills-R-Us]

Let's see... they're depressed, at least partly because they feel trapped and isolated, so you use a COMPUTER to remind them that not only are they isolated, but you don't care enough to have a live human talk to them?

What moron came up with this?