There are situations in which space pilots may enter a traumatic situation. The most impressive evidence of this situation is the set of problems that some of the Apollo pilots who landed on the moon had to face upon their return to Earth.
Mazar Haim
On the face of it, the subject of the article seems very distant and perhaps even esoteric. The question can be asked, and rightly so, what about space flights and trauma situations. The answer is that there are situations in which space pilots may enter a traumatic situation. The most impressive evidence of this situation is the set of problems that some of the Apollo pilots who landed on the moon had to face upon their return to Earth. In order to be able to discuss these situations, one must understand what trauma is. Familiar situations for trauma situations are battle shock and a sense of loss as a result of the death of a relative. "A traumatic event is not necessarily a tragic event. If we examine the structural process of trauma, then in its essence it is an occurrence, which he experienced as an extraordinary emotional experience, this occurrence affects his familiar behavior patterns to the point of changes to one degree or another"1.
In the Apollo flights, the trauma came into expression after the Apollo pilots where Earth and its revelations were in the upheavals they went through in their lives, sometimes accompanied by severe crises2. Edwin Aldrin, the pilot of Apollo 11, had to deal with exposure to crowd adoration and a sense of emptiness, as he remained unchallenged and was close to a nervous breakdown. The solution he found for this is to replace a big goal with smaller goals. Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 pilot, claimed to have experienced a new perspective of humanity and the Earth and 18 months after landing, divorced his wife and started a new career, parapsychology. James Irwin, the pilot of Apollo 15, had a profound religious experience. In 1972, upon his retirement from his service as an astronaut, he founded the "High Altitude Flight Institute" whose purpose, according to him, is "to share faith in God and serve humanity"3.
The number of people who have landed on the moon to date is only 12, so the psychological experience with space trauma is extremely limited. At the same time, it should be taken into account that these phenomena may return with the renewal of the manned flights to the moon and later to Mars. In any case, the metaphysical traumas can be classified into 3 types: traumas that result from the fact that astronauts become heroes against their will, traumas that result from extraordinary emotional experiences as a result of experiencing a point of view that they were not used to, such as from the very fact that they land on the soil of a foreign and unfamiliar world, and seeing Earth is outside of it. These exciting experiences may bring the person experiencing them into ecstatic states that will be difficult to get out of. A third type of trauma is a feeling of emptiness that may develop after returning to Israel, a kind of lost way.
Astronauts make lengthy preparations for their flight and invest all their energy and thought into it. Upon their return to Israel, they are not assigned to additional tasks and they do not know what to do with themselves. This is an unhealthy condition that, if not treated in time, may lead to deterioration. In extreme cases, suicidal thoughts may also develop.
There are different ways to deal with these situations. Of course, a solution must be adapted to each type of trauma. One way is to use a technique that is used in soldiers who have experienced battle shock. The solution in this case is to let the soldiers re-experience the war experience through simulations and/or by returning them to the battlefield. The corresponding solution for astronauts is simulations of space flights and/or a quick return to operational service. For astronauts who have finished their operational service for various reasons, new careers with mission characteristics must be planned for them, as in the case of Edwin Aldrin, and as for those astronauts who face the situation of heroes against their will, ways must be found for them to gradually return to their anonymity and be helped by the accumulated experience of people who have been in situations where They became the objects of admiration and exposure without aspiring to it in the first place.
Trauma situations can also arise during prolonged stays in space. The Russian experience of staying for months in the Soliot and Mir space stations allows to focus the research on the situations in which such situations may arise4. One possibility is the feeling of deprivation of an earthly environment such as smells, sounds, contact with family members and close friends. A partial solution found for this is frequent radio and television contact and sending gifts using the supply spacecraft, but the need for physical contact will always be felt and in space flight this is not possible. A situation may arise in which a prolonged accumulation of these losses will develop into the breaking point of astronauts and the outbreak of trauma. A second possibility is diseases. When astronauts orbit the Earth, it is possible to immediately return to Earth. This was the case with the Russian astronauts Vladimir Vestyutin and Alexander Lavaynin. During his flight, Vestyutin felt sick and the drugs that were on the space station were not strong enough to get him back on his feet, and he immediately returned to Earth, and Labayinin was brought back to Earth due to a slight irregularity in his heart. It would be wise on long flights to Mars, for example, to staff spacecraft with doctors and provide extensive medical equipment, including operating rooms. Here it is not possible to cancel a flight and return to Israel. At the same time, there is a possibility that due to the inability to immediately return to Earth, astronauts may develop extreme feelings of anxiety to the point of entering traumatic situations. Another possibility is the death of one of the astronauts, either during the flight or after landing, for example, on the moon or Mars. Other astronauts may lose their self-confidence to the point of feelings of anxiety and their performance will be impaired.
During their training for their future space flights, astronauts also undergo comprehensive personality tests and receive appropriate psychological training. Thinking ahead, dealing with potentially traumatic situations should also be taken into account. As mentioned, the experience is very limited. Even a partial solution to this deficiency is the construction of behavioral models for expected situations and the use of the cumulative experience of behavior in conditions of prolonged stay in submarines, experience and knowledge that are in the hands of different navies.
Sources
1. Mazar Haim - "Winning the lottery is also a traumatic event" Managers, April 27, 1990, p. 30-31.
2. Air Force Town 94 August 1974 p. 98-99.
3. Ibid p. 98.
4. Valentin Glushko (Ed) – Soviet cosmonautics Questions and Answers, Novosti
Press Agency Publishing House, 1988, pp. 66-68.
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