Scientists tracked 12 people in Antarctica for 10 months—what happened could shape future Mars missions
A ten-month Antarctic experiment found that astronauts may struggle not only with loneliness but also with spending too much time around the same people. Frequent contact was linked to greater tension and mistrust, while the crew increasingly divided into cultural and language-based groups.
Long space missions subject crews to isolation, cramped quarters, and intense psychological strain for months on end. To better understand how these conditions affect teamwork, an international team of researchers observed a ten-month overwintering mission at Concordia Station in Antarctica. Led by Jan Schmutz, a psychology professor from the University of Zurich, and Andrea Cantisani, a psychiatrist at the University of Bern, the study involved 12 crew members who completed questionnaires and wore sensors that tracked their physical proximity to others.
Concordia Station, one of the most remote places on Earth with winter temperatures dropping to minus 80 degrees Celsius, offered a realistic simulation of future missions to the Moon or Mars.
The researchers combined questionnaire responses with sensor data to monitor changes in loneliness, trust, conflict, social relationships, team cohesion, and perceived performance throughout the mission. Surprisingly, the findings revealed that spending more time near fellow crew members did not necessarily lead to better social outcomes.
In fact, participants who interacted more often with others were more likely to report increased conflict, mistrust, and lower performance. This suggests that constant closeness can introduce another layer of pressure in confined environments. Jan Schmutz, one of the study's leaders, cautioned that frequent contact does not automatically translate to social support, but can actually heighten tensions.
The study also found that crew members gradually formed smaller subgroups based on shared language or nationality as the mission progressed. While these connections may provide individuals with a sense of support and grounding during stressful periods, they could also foster social divisions and weaken unity within culturally diverse teams.
The insights from this research could prove crucial for future space missions, where small crews must endure months or even years of close quarters living and limited communication with the outside world. The results may also apply to other high-pressure environments, such as submarines, offshore oil platforms, and remote research stations.
Schmutz emphasized the importance of early identification of social dynamics and providing targeted support to help teams cope with the unique challenges of highly confined environments. The study also demonstrated that wearable proximity sensors can function effectively in extreme conditions, allowing researchers to monitor everyday social patterns without disrupting crew routines.
Further research will explore which types of social interactions alleviate stress and which may exacerbate it.
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