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Experiments study how the eye’s pupil reacts to different flashes of light after a prolonged period of light or dark and also monitors how physical activity affects the rest-wake cycle by the wearing of special watches. It exploried if additional light and medicine can influence the body’s natural clock and enable regular sleep/wake patterns. This element of the research project is investigated the potential changes in eye function and health under influence of either constant light or constant darkness. The SIMSKILL experiment uses spacecraft simulators in Antarctica to see how the wintering crew copes over the course of their stay. For astronauts returning from Mars, mission designers need to know that they will be able to perform after months of isolation and stressful exploration. On the International Space Station, astronauts periodically take refresher courses for critical tasks such as berthing cargo spacecraft. Medical doctor Nathalie Pattyn testing the spaceflight simulator with a Halley winter team memberĪstronauts on long missions in space need to pilot their spacecraft and conduct complex operations months or even years after their training on Earth. Teams are using a cockpit simulator – modelled on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz for training astronauts in the virtual docking to the international space station ISS – to test how skills are maintained over long periods of darkness and isolation. This medical research project involves wintering staff at both Halley Research Station and the Concordia Station in East Antarctica, which is run by French and Italian Antarctic organisations.
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The four components of this project are: SIMSKILL space flight simulator Using Antarctica as a ‘platform’ for simulating certain aspects of a manned spaceflight mission, this project, involving BAS, BASMU and the European Space Agency (ESA) will investigate how living in an isolated community during 24-hour winter darkness affects the health of Halley staff and their and ability to perform specific problem-solving functions. The isolation and darkness at Antarctic research stations during winter is similar to what astronauts might experience during a long-term space flight to the moon, Mars and beyond. Many studies of overwintering staff in Antarctica have been carried out at BAS research stations in partnership with the BAS Medical Unit (BASMU) based at Plymouth Hospitals NHS. The remoteness and winter isolation of communities working in Antarctica provide an excellent environment for research into human behaviour, performance, health and well being.