written by Marla Lynn Welsch

What Can We Measure About Humans?

During Asclepios VI, numerous scientific experiments explored exactly these interactions.

With Raptor, a lunar lander simulator, we had to safely land a virtual spacecraft on the Moon. Questionnaires and cognitive tests were conducted before and after the sessions. Personally, I found the experiment frustrating at first – landing is incredibly difficult. At the same time, it was fascinating to see how much training could improve performance.

Over time, I became significantly better. At the same time, the experiment showed how fatigue and the conditions of a longer mission can influence performance. This is important for future exploration: astronauts will not only have to train technical procedures, but also understand how stress, fatigue, and monotony can affect their performance.

Space Cogs investigated different cognitive abilities, including spatial reasoning, recognising 3D objects, working memory, and orientation tasks.

Other experiments focused on the psychological and social aspects of isolation. Green Mind explored, among other things, how working with plants and observing their growth can influence motivation, psychological well-being, and collaboration.

For me, having something alive inside the habitat was meaningful even beyond the questionnaires. In a cold, artificial underground environment, seeing something grow felt surprisingly normal and comforting.

The Glucose Experiment investigated how different lighting conditions and wavelengths in the workplace may relate to stress and glucose levels – a topic that was particularly interesting to me from a medical perspective.

And then there was Pebble, our rover.

When an Experiment Starts to Feel Like a Mission

Pebble was one of the highlights of the entire mission for me – perhaps precisely because it did not work perfectly from the beginning.

During EVAs, we used the rover for tasks including mapping, locating samples, and carrying out sampling activities. There were technical problems along the way, and we had to analyse them, troubleshoot, adapt, and try again.

That is why the final EVA was so special to me.

This time, the entire run worked from beginning to end. I was the rover pilot and was able to complete the successful run myself. After all the previous problems and repeated attempts, there was suddenly this moment:

Wow. This is what all the training was for.

During this EVA, we were also able to generate a satellite image of Europa showing our position and the activity of the EVA crew. We were actually outside, conducting our simulated exploration, and could then see that activity from a perspective normally associated with satellite observations.

Moments like this make an analog mission feel surprisingly real. We were not simply nine people living in a bunker. We were practising procedures and technologies that could one day be relevant to real planetary exploration.

The Moment It Really Felt Like a Mission

My strongest feeling of actually being on a mission, however, did not come during a planned experiment.

It came during an emergency EVA.

A pipe had burst and part of the basement had flooded. At the same time, our toilet was no longer usable. We therefore had to go outside within a very tight time window to retrieve a camping toilet from the Rocket Room.

Suddenly, everything had to work: preparation, communication, the suit, the EVA, and the teamwork. We had less than an hour to complete the donning and the entire task before the next mission window began.

And we did it.

For me, this was one of those moments when the simulation really showed its value. Not because everything was perfect – quite the opposite. We had to deal with an unexpected problem, make decisions, communicate, and function as a team.

You Do Not Have to Be Perfect

Perhaps this is the most important lesson I take away from Asclepios VI.

Astronauts do not have to be perfect.

But they have to show up.

They have to remain flexible, follow instructions, communicate, and be willing to adapt their strategy. They have to recognise mistakes and learn from them. And they have to address small problems early, before they become bigger problems.

Most importantly, they have to be team players.

A mission can be technically prepared to an incredible level – but in the end, it is people who make decisions, operate systems, solve problems, and take responsibility for each other.

After 14 days, I had completely lost my sense of time. At the same time, those two weeks felt incredibly short.

I learned how important it is to actively find ways of dealing with stress – through exercise, conversations, shared activities, music, dancing, laughter, or simply spending time with the crew.

And I learned that isolation does not mean being alone.

Behind every crew is a whole network of people who support, monitor, communicate, and help make the mission possible.

Would I Do It Again?

Immediately.

Perhaps especially because of the difficult moments.

Because it changes you. Because you realise you can do more than you thought. Because you learn to understand yourself and other people better. And because these experiences are not only relevant to an analog mission – they are relevant to the future of human exploration.

Our generation could be the last to grow up without a permanent human presence on the Moon.

If we eventually live and work there, we will need more than rockets, rovers, habitats, and scientific experiments.

We will need people who can live and work together.

Not perfect. Just there for each other.

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