THE ISEMSI EXPERIMENT - EUROPE 1ST SIMULATION CAMPAIGN FOR LONG-DURATION MANNED SPACEFLIGHT

The goal of achieving European autonomy for the long-duration manned space missions planned for the beginning of the next century has given rise to several studies being undertaken in 'space-analogous' environments during the last two years. The first wholly space-oriented long-duration manned simulation campaign undertaken in Europe took place during 1990, involving a crew of six isolated for four weeks in a hyperbaric chamber complex. The resources available for the study were entirely devoted to obtaining scientific data on the psychological and physiological effects of long-duration isolation and confinement on crew performance. Fundamental lessons were learnt on the operational side also, and these will be fully exploited in setting up future simulation campaigns.