Learning to Live on a Mars Day: Fatigue Countermeasures during the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission (original) (raw)

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1Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

2Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

*Address correspondence to: Laura K. Barger, PhD, Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 221 Longwood Avenue, BLI 438, Boston, MA 02115; Tel: (530) 753-2876; Fax: (617) 732- 4013; E-mail: lkbarger@hms.harvard.edu

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1Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

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3Cognitive Science Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

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4Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

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Laurence M. McKenna, MEngSc

1Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

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1Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

2Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

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3Cognitive Science Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

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5Operational Psychology, Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, TX

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6Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

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7Department of Neurology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

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Received:

01 December 2011

Revision received:

01 May 2012

Published:

01 October 2012

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Laura K. Barger, Jason P. Sullivan, Andrea S. Vincent, Edna R. Fiedler, Laurence M. McKenna, Erin E. Flynn-Evans, Kirby Gilliland, Walter E. Sipes, Peter H. Smith, George C. Brainard, Steven W. Lockley, Learning to Live on a Mars Day: Fatigue Countermeasures during the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission, Sleep, Volume 35, Issue 10, 1 October 2012, Pages 1423–1435, https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.2128
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Abstract

Study Objectives:

To interact with the robotic Phoenix Mars Lander (PML) spacecraft, mission personnel were required to work on a Mars day (24.65 h) for 78 days. This alien schedule presents a challenge to Earth-bound circadian physiology and a potential risk to workplace performance and safety. We evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of a fatigue management program to facilitate synchronization with the Mars day and alleviate circadian misalignment, sleep loss, and fatigue.

Design:

Operational field study.

Setting:

PML Science Operations Center.

Participants:

Scientific and technical personnel supporting PML mission.

Interventions:

Sleep and fatigue education was offered to all support personnel. A subset (n = 19) were offered a short-wavelength (blue) light panel to aid alertness and mitigate/reduce circadian desynchrony. They were assessed using a daily sleep/work diary, continuous wrist actigraphy, and regular performance tests. Subjects also completed 48-h urine collections biweekly for assessment of the circadian 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythm.

Measurements and Results:

Most participants (87%) exhibited a circadian period consistent with adaptation to a Mars day. When synchronized, main sleep duration was 5.98 ± 0.94 h, but fell to 4.91 ± 1.22 h when misaligned (P < 0.001). Self-reported levels of fatigue and sleepiness also significantly increased when work was scheduled at an inappropriate circadian phase (P < 0.001). Prolonged wakefulness (≥ 21 h) was associated with a decline in performance and alertness (P < 0.03 and P < 0.0001, respectively).

Conclusions:

The ability of the participants to adapt successfully to the Mars day suggests that future missions should utilize a similar circadian rhythm and fatigue management program to reduce the risk of sleepiness-related errors that jeopardize personnel safety and health during critical missions.

© 2012 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

Topic:

• circadian rhythms
• consciousness related finding
• fatigue
• wrist
• sleep
• drowsiness
• actigraphy
• sleep duration
• self-report

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