Ways to pass time on long missions

[trekkie_]

let's keep in mind that they don't really need to bring anything with them on the ship. Even at that distance, they could still get access to the internet and download stuff on their own, or request it in a routine transmission. sure there will be seconds or minutes of delay, but they will still get huge bandwidth.

I think they'd want people focused, especially given the cost of a mission. this isn't a military barracks where you can mess around to kill time off duty. you have to be psychologically prepared. I don't think they would want anything that might cause frustrations, so gaming will probably be out of the question. On manned deep space missions, strict control over everything psychological has to be accounted for. The type of people they'll be sending will probably not really be gamers anyways.

These types of missions will probably be strictly work oriented. There's always plenty to do. Astronauts are only awake 3/4ths of a day, exercising, eating, etc another 1/4th, and that leaves just 2/4ths of a day to get any actual useful work out of them. There's also no staying up past your bed time in space. Sleep routines are strictly enforced, because in space if you don't have a schedule you'll be all over the place.....and a lack of sleep can result in lost man hours too. Really, deep space travel wouldn't be a picnic. Most people think they could do it if only they had video games or some other media to pass the time. But they're also probably the ones that would go crazy and try to escape out of an airlock.

[KerikBalm]

Nobody wanted to correct the OP who said:

"Just post a way astronauts could pass time on the way to Europa or to get their minds off the fact they will die before the ship lands and their great grand children will land instead."

It doesn't take *that long* to get to Europa, you could go there and back in 1 lifetime, well before you have any great grandchildren.

[peadar1987]

let's keep in mind that they don't really need to bring anything with them on the ship. Even at that distance, they could still get access to the internet and download stuff on their own, or request it in a routine transmission. sure there will be seconds or minutes of delay, but they will still get huge bandwidth.

I think they'd want people focused, especially given the cost of a mission. this isn't a military barracks where you can mess around to kill time off duty. you have to be psychologically prepared. I don't think they would want anything that might cause frustrations, so gaming will probably be out of the question. On manned deep space missions, strict control over everything psychological has to be accounted for. The type of people they'll be sending will probably not really be gamers anyways.

These types of missions will probably be strictly work oriented. There's always plenty to do. Astronauts are only awake 3/4ths of a day, exercising, eating, etc another 1/4th, and that leaves just 2/4ths of a day to get any actual useful work out of them. There's also no staying up past your bed time in space. Sleep routines are strictly enforced, because in space if you don't have a schedule you'll be all over the place.....and a lack of sleep can result in lost man hours too. Really, deep space travel wouldn't be a picnic. Most people think they could do it if only they had video games or some other media to pass the time. But they're also probably the ones that would go crazy and try to escape out of an airlock.

I get your point, but 1/2 of a day is still 12 hours. You work somebody for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop for the 3 years it takes for a Mars return trip, they're probably going to snap. They will have some downtime. Even on the ISS they have downtime.

[Seret]

The general rule of thumb when planning someone's productivity is that you can't expect better than about 80%. People aren't machines.

[Idobox]

let's keep in mind that they don't really need to bring anything with them on the ship. Even at that distance, they could still get access to the internet and download stuff on their own, or request it in a routine transmission. sure there will be seconds or minutes of delay, but they will still get huge bandwidth.

I think they'd want people focused, especially given the cost of a mission. this isn't a military barracks where you can mess around to kill time off duty. you have to be psychologically prepared. I don't think they would want anything that might cause frustrations, so gaming will probably be out of the question. On manned deep space missions, strict control over everything psychological has to be accounted for. The type of people they'll be sending will probably not really be gamers anyways.

These types of missions will probably be strictly work oriented. There's always plenty to do. Astronauts are only awake 3/4ths of a day, exercising, eating, etc another 1/4th, and that leaves just 2/4ths of a day to get any actual useful work out of them. There's also no staying up past your bed time in space. Sleep routines are strictly enforced, because in space if you don't have a schedule you'll be all over the place.....and a lack of sleep can result in lost man hours too. Really, deep space travel wouldn't be a picnic. Most people think they could do it if only they had video games or some other media to pass the time. But they're also probably the ones that would go crazy and try to escape out of an airlock.

Spending all your awake time on scheduled tasks for a long time is a sure fire way to get burn outs and depression. You need to give people time and freedom if you want to keep them efficient.

I don't see how the frustration caused by gaming could be a problem, unless the only game they have access to is flappy birds. Competitive games might even be a nice way to defuse interpersonal tensions, as it would be a reasonable channel to express your frustration and anger for your mates, since dance offs and basketball are probably out of the question.

A form of creative activity or learning would be very valuable, to achieve a sense of self-accomplishment. Could as simple as using Photoshop, playing music or learning a new language on Rosetta stone, or to learn each other skills, to improve redundancy during the mission.

[peadar1987]

ZERO G DANCE-OFFS!!. Why would you do anything else?!

[Idobox]

Because that would interfere with zero-G calvinball.

[Sky_walker]

I get your point, but 1/2 of a day is still 12 hours. You work somebody for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop for the 3 years it takes for a Mars return trip, they're probably going to snap. They will have some downtime. Even on the ISS they have downtime.

TPB won't work, but I'm sure they'll be able to download games, movies, music, books and video messages through other means than torrents . Add hardware maintenance and trainings for the mission on the ground and you'll have enough to pass most of the time.

IMHO things like private space onboard the craft, personal relations, or even meals variability will be much more crucial to the psychical well-being of a crew than whatever they'll have enough "to do" or not - stuff "to do" can be provided quite easily, especially if you'll eliminate people unsuitable for the mission early on (which is already done for the ISS).

[EDIT:]

Some non-videogame suggestions:

Large library of books, music, and movies.

Educational materials, an astronaut could earn a(nother) degree on an interplanetary journey.

Craft materials. Being able to paint a picture, make a sculpture, or knit a sweater.

If the hab has a large open microgravity space, some sporting equipment.

Board games.

Red Iron Crown always ahead of me, hehe.

Yea, basically this.

And just think of potential - they'll have time to design the first ever 0g board game!

Edited September 15, 2014 by Sky_walker

[TythosEternal]

Pack a dozen Nerf guns, do a live multiplayer reincarnation of Descent...

[Godot]

Playing computergames, watching stars and planets, having ... with beautiful female astronauts while watching stars

[Brethern]

Because that would interfere with zero-G calvinball.

Yes yes please yes.

We need a huge sphere stadium just for this purpose.

[LABHOUSE]

Nobody wanted to correct the OP who said:

"Just post a way astronauts could pass time on the way to Europa or to get their minds off the fact they will die before the ship lands and their great grand children will land instead."

It doesn't take *that long* to get to Europa, you could go there and back in 1 lifetime, well before you have any great grandchildren.

But I meant if they went further away see the OR.

[XiXLLAMAXiX]

I feel like one standard deck of cards could probably keep people entertained for a significant amount of time.