Cracking jokes on the first space flight

to Mars
By Ian Sample, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.15.19
Word Count 808
Level 980L

Image 1. An artist's concept of Phoenix landing on Mars. Photo from NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

History has shown that space missions can be scary. Having someone on the crew
who makes the others laugh can be important. The first mission to Mars might
need someone funny.

The idea might make astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the
moon, spin in his grave. However, researchers have found that the success of a
mission to Mars – sometimes called the Red Planet – could depend on including a
class clown.

Rather than the cool personality that was prized in the Apollo-era astronauts of
the 1960s and 1970s, future astronauts might need to prove they have something
different. Being silly might be the most important qualification of all. Research
shows that someone who is a comedian can unite teams in stressful situations.

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Getting The Right Combination Of People Together

Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida, said that there are people
who have the ability to pull everyone together. He said that when you are living in
a small space for a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, tensions are
likely to be high. That makes it even more important to have someone who can
help everyone get along to get there and back safely, he said.

Johnson spent four years studying crews in Antarctica. He identified the

importance of having different people – clowns, leaders, buddies, storytellers,
peacemakers and counselors – for making teams work smoothly. The same mixes
worked in U.S., Russian, Polish, Chinese and Indian bases, he found.

"These roles are informal. They emerge within the group. But the interesting
thing is that if you have the right combination, the group does very well. And if
you don't, the group does very badly," he said.

Are We There Yet?

NASA is preparing for a mission to Mars with a crew as early as 2033. The
Russian and Chinese space agencies have proposed human missions starting in
2040. Private ventures such as Elon Musk's SpaceX have also set their sights on
the planet.

A mission to Mars is no cakewalk, however. The Red Planet averages about 140
million miles from Earth. Sometimes the two planets are closer to each other and
sometimes farther apart, depending on their orbits around the sun.

The travel time one way from Earth to Mars is about eight months. The distance is
expected to take a mental toll on astronauts. They must also face a time delay in
communications of up to 20 minutes each way. In an emergency, there will be no
time to call mission control, so the crew members are on their own.

Even minor delays in communication are

bad for crews. When NASA tested a 50-
second communications delay with
astronauts on the International Space
Station, they found well-being slumped and
frustration rose. There were also effects on
how tasks got done.

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Studying Antarctica And Alaska To Get Ready For Space

Johnson is working with NASA to explore whether clowns and other character
types are important for the success of long space missions. He has monitored four
groups of astronauts who spent 30 to 60 days in the Human Exploration Research
Analog. It is the agency's mock space habitat in Houston, Texas.

NASA wants to see if the informal roles interact similarly in space-like

environments, Johnson said. He spoke at the American Association for the
Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, D.C. Early results suggest they
do, he said.

Johnson also has studied salmon fishers in Alaska. He has found that clowns were
willing to be the butt of jokes and pranks. In Antarctica, one clown endured a
mock funeral and burial in the snow. The comedian was important for building
bridges between clusters of scientists and other groups.

Keeping Spirits High

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen appreciated the importance of a clown,

Johnson said. In 1910, Amundsen picked the jolly cook Adolf Lindstrøm for his trip
to the South Pole. He knew that Lindstrøm's high spirits would relieve the stress
of homesickness and the long polar nights. "He has rendered greater and more
valuable services to the Norwegian polar expedition than any other man,"
Amundsen wrote in his diary.

"Lindstrøm was viewed by others as a great entertainer who helped maintain

spirits" over the long winter, Johnson said. "His role was informal but critical for
maintaining togetherness in the extreme environment.

"Scott's polar expedition was radically different," Johnson said. He was referring
to British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who died with his crew on an expedition
to the South Pole. The crew was not united, he said.

As Lindstrøm showed, there is more to the role than making people laugh. "Being
funny won't be enough to land somebody the job," Johnson said.

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