AUTOMATION and artificial intelligence in space missions are still a long way from being able to do everything required for success 鈥� to a greater or lesser extent, humans are still required. But with crewed lunar and Martian flights on the cards in the near future, what is the psychological effect of astronauts spending months in extreme, confined environments without much or any contact with friends or family?
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This is the central question Ido Mizrahy explores in The Longest Goodbye. Drawing on interviews with psychologists and human behaviour specialists, plus former astronauts and their relatives, his documentary also delves into NASA鈥檚 efforts to maintain morale and deal with obstacles caused by prolonged separation in the lead-up to the SpaceX Crew-3 flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021. Overall, the documentary succeeds in painting a moving picture of the emotional and mental turmoil astronauts feel while away from Earth, and what is being done to make space exploration a more tolerable job.
Gone are the days of John Glenn and the Friendship 7 capsule, when nations competed just to get people into orbit for a few hours. With Mars in NASA鈥檚 sights, crews flying there will face months in deep space and even the most successful applicants will have to undergo psychological preparation that brings a risk of being deemed unsuitable to travel. There is also the lingering fear that such ambitions can come with a huge price: missing out on some of life鈥檚 big events and risking the deterioration of relationships with family and friends.
Increasingly, space sci-fi 鈥� think Alice Winocour鈥檚 Proxima or Ridley Scott鈥檚 The Martian 鈥� is moving past the technical and wondrous side of space travel to reveal what the isolation does to astronauts and to their families and children back home. Psychologists such as Al Holland at NASA鈥檚 Johnson Space Center in Texas bring an in-depth perspective to NASA鈥檚 recognition that such missions are an intensely human business.
These specialists offer Mizrahy intriguing insights into how long-term isolation affects astronauts, showing a different side to one of the riskiest careers. They reiterate the importance of social contact and a support network wherever you are. As Holland says, bluntly: 鈥淚f you are going to disconnect completely, you鈥檙e not just lost in space, but lost on Earth.鈥�
The Longest Goodbye also provides a perspective that comes from having lived through this. Former US astronaut Cady Coleman, who had a long stint on the ISS that ended in 2011, is particularly candid about the struggles of space travel. We see her try her best to maintain a maternal presence while in orbit through online chats and even musical duets with her son at home. These don鈥檛 prevent a tension she couldn鈥檛 assuage, but they are the moments that will resonate with audiences as they show what can happen if a loved one is out of reach.
Although it mostly comprises interviews, news coverage and behind-the-scenes footage, this documentary offers simplistic yet beautiful visuals that don鈥檛 overwhelm the poignancy of its subject. Even when the film shifts focus to the most modern technology used to help maintain communications and acquires a futuristic aesthetic that will resonate with sci-fi fans, the human factor is never far away.
There is a thoughtfulness and humanity that drives The Longest Goodbye. Mizrahy鈥檚 combination of candid insights, ambient soundtrack and gorgeous visuals provides him with the tools for a melancholic, profound appreciation of the human aspect of space exploration.
Katie Smith-Wong is a film critic聽based聽in London
