Gleaning from Diaries in Long-Duration Isolation

INTRODUCTION: A 264-d isolation simulation, SFINCSS-99, was conducted in Moscow to replicate typical scenarios on an orbital space station. One long-term group of four Russian crewmembers occupied the isolation complex for most of the duration (240 d), while two international groups of four each spent 110 d successively at the complex. Additionally, there were several short visits by medical personnel. The main objective of this paper is to investigate group and individual behavioral dynamics, particularly the intercultural challenges faced during long-duration isolation, using insights from crewmembers’ diaries.

METHODS: A variety of instruments and training activities, employed before, during, and after the mission, formed this multifaceted experiment. One key component, crewmembers’ diaries, is the primary data source for this analysis.

RESULTS: While unstructured instruments can be challenging to analyze, these diaries proved especially useful for studying group dynamics and identifying behavioral and intercultural issues. The crewmembers found our unstructured formats, such as these journals and post-mission interviews, to be a more effective means of expressing themselves compared to structured instruments.

DISCUSSION: Personal journals, open-ended questions, and the freedom from constraints typically imposed by feedback instruments used for quantitative analysis are invaluable for observing and expressing crewmembers’ psychological status, as well as inter-crew and intercultural dynamics. Personal journals can also provide a basis for constructive intervention by ground personnel, researchers, or psychologists. Insights from this study can be applied to current challenges, such as the adoption of self-isolation as prevention against spread of COVID-19.

Kass JR, Kass R. Gleaning from diaries in long-duration isolation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2025; 96(9):829–840.