Human Interactions in Space Welcome to Human Interactions in Space, a research program dedicated to identifying and characterizing the psychosocial issues that affect the health and well-being of space crewmembers and the mission control personnel that support them. The program goal is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the safety and success of people involved with long-duration space missions.

Research Interests

• The study of psychosocial issues, such as tension, cohesion, and leadership role during long-duration space missions
• The displacement of negative emotions by crewmembers and by mission control personnel
• The changes that occur over time in the crew and mission control interpersonal environments
• The impact of cultural background and language on the interpersonal environment of multi-national crews
• The identification and treatment of asthenia and other psychiatric issues in space crews during long-duration missions
• The development of countermeasures to deal with psychosocial problems during long-duration space missions

Research Projects
For information about specific projects, select below:

Research Team
Project members are affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and the Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE) at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco (SFVAMC).

• Nick Kanas, M.D., Principal Investigator (Bio)
• Charlies Marmar, M.D., Co-Investigator
• Daniel Weiss, Ph.D., Co-Investigator
• Jennifer Boyd Ritsher, Ph.D., Research Scientist
• Philip Petit, M.A., Administrative Assistant

Charles Marmar, M.D., Ellen Grund, M.S., Nick Kanas, M.D., Daniel Weiss, Ph.D., and Philip Petit, M.A.

Russian Collaborators
Collaborators are associated with the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, Russia

• Vyacheslav Salnitskiy, Ph.D.
• Vadim Gushin, M.D.
• Olga Kozerenko, M.D.
• Alexander Sled, M.S.