Interviews
Interview with Jaroslav Sýkora Source: AFOHLED 3/2009 Sociologist Jaroslav Sýkora is a member of the International Astronautic Academy based in Paris. From the late eighties, he has been steadily pursuing the mapping of human relationships inside small social groups. He used to head the project Tunnel to Mars and is now – along with Tomas Bata University – participating in the international project Mars 500. You were the Head of the project Tunnel to Mars; what did this experiment consist of and what were the results? Tunnel to Mars was the first project of its kind which took place in Czechoslovakia. In its complexity, it was quite unique as it explored humans through a bio-psycho-social perception. It was based on our ideas about functioning of humans in a critical situation. This situation was a model of long-term isolation. We wanted to know what circumstances affect the changes in human behaviour. The results of this exploration can be applied quite broadly also in daily life, yet we were especially concerned by space research. We exposed the participants to exceptional situations (fire on board or technological failures). We presumed that humans will not behave according to routine life. The final results took us by surprise. Thanks to the duly prepared project activities of the crew and its full acceptation, the participants behaved normally. Tunnel to Mars took place in 1988. Did any political pressures interfere with the project? There was no pressure exerted on the scientists or the persons examined. Naturally, some pressure did occur, yet it never reflected inside the group. Only politicians were involving politics in the field of international competition. The Eastern block had the Interkosmos agency established while competing with the West; there was no influencing here. You now work in the international project Mars 500. Is it a similar psycho-social, psycho-physiological and sociological research to that of Tunnel 88? Mars 500 is a perfect equivalent of our simple Tunnel. When I say simple, it is also due to the fact that, two years past our Tunnel, foreign experiments took place which were performed with the use of state-of-art technology and massive financial support. You can say, with a pinch of salt, obviously, that we had great tools yet made of ash-tree wood, even if we were using imported German tools. However, even under our minimalistic circumstances, we achieved similar results as they did abroad. The so-called Sociomapping is the Czech invention used in the Mars 500 project, through the recording of the relationships between the individual and the group… Sociomapping came into being in QED GROUP a.s. Dr. Radovan Bahbouh came up with the idea of this special analytical – graphical method corresponding with the so-called BIOPSYS philosophy which represents exploration of humans with a complex multi-disciplinary view. The methods were so inter-combined that they reflected the description of human activities and ways in which we could (in the positive sense) affect human lives. With Sociomapping, we can even predict the most suitable staffing of the crew. Could a long-term isolation in enclosed rooms permanently affect the participants’ health? Psychical harm cannot be fully dismissed, yet I believe that the survival conditions are composed so well that no bodily harm should occur. As opposed to the Tunnel where we used random selection, Mars 500 used a controlled selection. 5,600 people applied out of which 20 were short-listed; of those, 6 were selected as direct participants. Naturally, safety can never be guaranteed with certainty, but the probability of someone not surviving or suffer from serious health or psychical harm is very small. The Mars 500 crew includes only men. Is it an intention or a coincidence? It is definitely an intention. Years ago, we had a clash of opinions with our American colleagues who did not count on including women. The only experiment involving a woman was our project Tunnel to Mars. We have discovered that a woman plays a very important role in the crew, provided her personality profile corresponds with given conditions. The motherly type of woman is best suited for the purpose. This prompts the air of chivalry and ease in the crew which is very desirable for survival in isolation. What is your expert view on reality shows which are seemingly similar in substance to the experimental research of an isolated group? I reckon that the concept of reality shows does not serve the acquisition of knowledge on cohabitation of people in critical conditions. Even here, critical conditions can occur, but the behaviour motives differ considerably. Interview was held by Jakub GANTNER J. Sýkora/Tunnel to Mars/17.4. |