Group interactions in SFINCSS-99: lessons for improving behavioral support programs.

Human factors can significantly influence successful mission completion of prolonged space missions such as ISS expeditions or future Mars missions. This paper describes group dynamics and group interactions during SFINCSS-99, a very unique international long-term confinement study in a space mission analog environment. Many interpersonal or inter-group conflicts occurred, and these caused the early retirement of a Japanese subject. This paper cites examples of these conflicts, and analyzes their causes with our results. The international cooperation to extract lessons learned, which could be used to refine behavioral support programs for the ISS or similar international studies, is also introduced.