Course curriculum

  • 1

    Space Psychology 101

    • Overview of the Space Psychology course

    • Space Psychology definition, scope, and importance

    • Historical perspective on the evolution of Space Psychology

    • Fundamental theories of psychology

    • Spatial Psychology in the space industry

    • Life on mars from a Self-Determination Theory

  • 2

    Contextual Features of Space Missions

    • Isolated, confined, and extreme environments

    • Missions in low orbit and space environments

    • Missions in space analog terrestrial environments

    • Teams across the extremeness continuum
  • 3

    Human Adaptation to Low Orbit and Space Environments

    • Human Performance during space missions

    • Psychological characteristics that work (and those which don’t)

    • Memory and cognition in orbit

    • Mood and coping mechanisms during short and long duration space missions
  • 4

    Team Dynamics and Interpersonal Relationships

    • What is a team?

    • Resilience and adaptation during space missions

    • Space crews’ composition

    • Team cohesion in human space flight and space analogs

    • Leadership in isoleated, confined, and extreme environments

    • Team risks and their countermeasures

    • Leadership
  • 5

    Selecting, Developing, and Maintaining the Right Stuff

    • Recruiting and selecting for space missions

    • Training for Space

    • Biophilic space habitats

    • Human behavior and performance in deep space exploration
  • 6

    How to become a Space Psychologist

    • Becoming a Space Psychologist

    • Tips to start