Technologies

Mars colony simulations: Crew may revolt without strong interplanetary communication

As extraterrestrial settlers gain independence from mission control, they could test the line between healthy autonomy and closed-off anarchy.

Earlier this month, six people began their tenure in an immersive experiment that’s either your greatest dream or your worst nightmare: They’re living in a simulated extraterrestrial colony while being monitored by its builders. It’s part of Project Sirius, an eight-month off-world settlement test taking place in Moscow.

Given the rampant interest in colonizing other planets — especially from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — scientists behind these experiments are learning what physical and psychological consequences could be in store for future Martian or lunar settlers. And even though 2021’s Sirius simulation just started on Nov. 4, there’s already a good chunk of data to work with from tests in 2017 and 2019.

Among those analyzing the specifics, one research team has noted two striking outcomes: Members of the «off-Earth society» grew increasingly autonomous, and they progressively communicated their feelings less often with mission control. The researchers published their findings Nov. 9 in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

At face value, strong independence seems promising in a potential Martian society. If settlers perceive full control of their mission, they’d function confidently on their own and work collaboratively, drawing on their comfort with one another. That could benefit later interplanetary endeavors by easing individual anxiety and enhancing group cohesion for carrying out protocols.

That was one of the surprising findings of the study. «The communication characteristics of crew members with different personalities, genders and cultures became more similar during the mission,» said co-author Dmitry Shved of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Aviation Institute.

But on a deeper level, letting go of mission control’s hand invites some challenges.

«The negative side is that the mission control loses the possibility to understand the needs and problems of the crew, which consequently hinders mission control’s ability to provide support,» Shved said.

Taking it a step (or five) further, if the crew achieves a super high level of autonomy and cohesion, according to Shved, there’s another potential concern — they might seek complete detachment from external governing structures. Basically, Martian-humans could revolt from Earthlings.

But not to worry, at least not too much. «During the period when the Mars colonies will still be dependent on resupplies and people coming from Earth,» he said, «the probability of severance of diplomatic relations seems rather low.»

Ground control to Major Tom

Project Sirius is all-encompassing. Each simulation gave participants the whole nine yards of space «colonization» to unlock precise details of off-world group dynamics.

First, subjects underwent a realistic takeoff and landing — rockiness and all. Then they were immediately isolated in chambers from the outside world. The brave souls also weren’t given an abundance of supplies, were told to utilize onboard greenhouses and even experienced signal lags while talking to mission control.

After the respective 17-day and 120-day periods of 2017’s and 2019’s experiments, Shved’s team began observing how communication between the experimental crews and mission control evolved over time.

«The crews in simulated missions tended to reduce their communication with the mission control during the isolation,» Shved said, «sharing their needs and problems less and less — with rare exceptions such as important mission events, like landing simulation.»

On the other hand, over the course of the mission there was a convergence of communication styles among Project Sirius crew members and an increase in crew cohesion, even though the crew composition was diverse by gender and cultural background, with pronounced individual differences, according to Shved.

Regarding gender, the team’s study indicated that those who identified as women reacted differently to stress than those who identified as men based on speech acoustic indicators, facial expressions and content analysis of their messages. Unlike men, women manifested both joy and sadness facially, and showcased stress less audibly in speech, Shved said.

That data coincides with stress management gender differences for space colonization in data obtained by Sheryl Bishop of California’s Space Surgery Institute, according to Shved. Her work was derived from results of a study that involved a four-month Martian space simulation known as FMARS, situated deep in the Canadian Arctic.

«However,» he said, «it should be noted that all female subjects in Sirius experiments were Russian, while males were Russian, German and American — so the cultural background could influence the observed differences.»

The researchers intend to continue studying communication behavior in crew members of the Sirius-21 experiment. And for both private and public agencies looking to begin extraterrestrial colonization, Shved urges that the main points revealed by his team’s analysis should ideally be discussed prior to the mission, and he stressed the importance of a good chat with «home.»

«Considering the technical means of communication, video messaging from the crew, colonists and back seems to be preferable,» he said, «as it provides better emotional connection, even under the signal lag and delay effect.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 24 #539

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 24, No. 539.

Looking for the most recent Strands answers? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a tough one. Long words, short words, they’re all over the map. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Plug your ears.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Check the decibel level.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BLAST, LAST, LABS, TING, STING, BOOT, DENT, DENTS, GOON, NITS, SIRE, STIR, RISE, ROSE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

LOUD, NOISY, BOOMING, BLASTING, STRIDENT, BOISTEROUS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is HUBBUB. To find it, look for the H that’s five letters down on the far-right row, and wind backwards.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Aug. 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 24.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword cites one of my favorite childhood shows in 6-Across. Hint: Think of a red-headed comedian who was famous for tugging her ear and for some classic commercial parodies — and who is still with us at age 92. Need answers for today’s NYT Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Perch for a family photo
Answer: SHELF

6A clue: Burnett with a variety show from 1967 to 1978
Answer: CAROL

7A clue: Plant that yields mezcal
Answer: AGAVE

8A clue: Deceptive ploys
Answer: RUSES

9A clue: «You’ve gotta be kidding me!»
Answer: YEESH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: How a leap of faith might feel
Answer: SCARY

2D clue: Dutch seat of government, with «The»
Answer: HAGUE

3D clue: What many pencils can do that magic markers can’t
Answer: ERASE

4D clue: Holds dear
Answer: LOVES

5D clue: _ and blood (kin)
Answer: FLESH

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 24, #805

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 24, #805.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a real mix. The green category reminds me that the puzzle editors love to find common words that have second meanings that are somewhat rare. Hint: «Rent» doesn’t only mean money you pay to a landlord. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Cheers!

Green group hint: You don’t want this to happen to your pants.

Blue group hint: Sssss…

Purple group hint: Do this with a phone.