A methodological study in a space flight simulation context

To study the effects of isolation and confinement on small groups during lo ng space flights, it is habitual to use closed hyperbaric ground chambers. For the first time, the European Space Agency made use of a natural environ ment taking advantage of an Antarctic winter-over at the French Dumont d'Ur ville Station. The main objective of that study ("International Antarctic P sychological Programme"), was to compare different Russian tests used for t raining cosmonauts to a W. European approach validated during previous wint er studies and European ground chamber simulations. Russian techniques appe ared to be oriented to a narrow range of phenomena and unsuited to discern the adjustment to stress conditions.