UFV’s Jelena Brcic helps examine the effects of stress and isolation on astronauts

Dr. Jelena Brcic is the principle investigator in a significant project funded by the Canadian Space Agency.

A University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) professor has received $1,145,460 from the Canadian Space Agency to investigate how astronauts experience long-term missions on the International Space Station (ISS). Over six years, (through 2031) , Dr. Jelena Brcic and her national research team will work with astronauts to understand how they manage stress and find meaning in their work.

“We’ll track both the challenges astronauts face and the positive emotions — such as gratitude, compassion, and awe — that help them thrive,” Jelena says.

The C-STARS (Canadian Space Team Affect and Resilience Study) project is led by Jelena, an associate professor at UFV, with co-investigators Dr. Kirsten Robertson (Brock University), Dr. Jason Harley (McGill University), and Dr. Jennifer Stellar (University of Toronto). Together, the team will explore how astronauts adapt psychologically during long-duration missions and how those lessons can inform life on Earth.

Jelena specializes in studying group cohesion in extreme environments, bringing a unique human-centred perspective to understanding how individuals and teams function under extreme isolation and stress. She and her team will work closely with astronauts who typically spend six months on the station, though missions can often run longer.

This study comes at a time when upcoming missions to the Moon, and eventually to Mars, mark major steps forward in space exploration. On the long voyage to Mars, astronauts will be confined to a small, isolated, and dangerous environment, depending on their crewmates for medical help and social support during frequent communication blackouts with Earth.

They’ll be far away from their loved ones, and Jelena suggests their job performance, physical health, and psychological well-being will depend on an ability to navigate the negative and capitalize on the positive. Her team will explore how astronauts aboard the ISS cope with negative daily stressors, how they experience self-transcendent emotions (e.g., gratitude, compassion, awe) and how they build meaning and experience significance from their daily work.

Self-transcendence means expanding one’s sense of self beyond personal boundaries to connect with something larger. Astronauts experience it as they look down on the planet they call home or gaze out into the cosmos.

Jelena will also examine what happens to astronauts when they return home. Her previous work with retired cosmonauts shows that spaceflight leads to lasting positive personal growth, with those who spent more time in space experiencing greater beneficial changes in attitudes and behavior after their missions.

This isn’t the first time Jelena has studied astronauts. She’s previously studied how they create a home away from home, and how they work together in close confines . She’s also examined how researchers in remote weather stations in the Arctic cope with isolation , and she’s currently exploring the experiences of women in search and rescue. For her PhD dissertation, she applied the topic of coping and motives in extreme and unusual environments to mountaineers on Everest expeditions, military units, and search and rescue groups.

The results of this new work, Jelena says, will not only offer insights into long-duration space missions, but also have relevance to Earth-bound communities.

“These findings will also have meaning for people on Earth working in isolated or high-pressure environments, such as extremely remote healthcare workers, wildfire crews, search and rescue teams, and residents of long-term care facilities,” Jelena notes. “Our knowledge will offer scalable solutions that improve emotional well-being and allow for psychological growth. Some that will encourage early intervention to prevent burnout, depression, and anxiety in remote settings.”

As with all research that Jelena pursues, UFV students will have the opportunity to assist. Dr. Garry Fehr, UFV’s Associate Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, hopes this project inspires the next generation of researchers to pursue STEM careers through hands-on, experiential learning opportunities.

“UFV researchers are delivering practical solutions to issues on Earth, with faculty and students making an impact in areas like food security, and critical mineral exploration,” Garry says. “Now, Jelena and the students who assist her will have a unique opportunity to influence and understand how people adapt to and manage high stress environments on earth and in space.

“It’s inspiring that a UFV researcher will play such a key role in the future of space exploration.”

This research is undertaken with the financial support of the Canadian Space Agency.