About the project

Astronauts experience poor mental health despite their military grade training. In this project I investigate why poor mental health persists in space-work using a novel combination of critical, social and emotion theory. I focus on emotional health because it is missing from space research as well as the cognate field of systems science which has recognised the importance of emotion. Emotional health is fundamental to mental health and cognitive function. I propose a humanistic, critical examination which investigates the organisational, social, systemic and technical conditions that constrain and enable space travellers’ emotional health. This project impacts current debates on emotional health in space and has implications for mental health in similar extreme environments. This project is also developing an international network of academics, practitioners and policymakers. Relatedly are Space musician collectives and documentary writers.

Dr Patrick Stacey – Principal Investigator

Dr Patrick Stacey is an Associate Professor of digital analytics with a focus on astronaut mental health, using sentiment analysis, topic modeling and ethnography. I am the Principal Investigator collaborating with the Austrian Space Forum, UK Space Agency, ESA, WBA and others. I was director of the Space Research Group at Loughborough, soon at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. I have published in top journals such as Human Relations and the Journal of the Association of Information Systems, earning numerous awards. I have hold Directorial roles for academic programmes and at journals such as IT & People. My research has influenced cancer care policy through Maggie’s Centres and astronaut emotional health via the UK Space Agency. My goals include enhancing work-life quality and mentoring future scholars through ethnographic and social data science methods.