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Writer's pictureMark Wagner, Ph.D.

Supporting the Mission and the Astronaut (Full Session)

When astronauts fly into space on missions, they are supported by a large crew of specialists in control centers back on earth. They are in daily radio contact with each other, and this has the important operational purpose of continuing safe and effective execution of tasks on missions.


This radio communication does however also make up one of the relatively few interpersonal relationships astronauts have during missions, and so it can play a role in providing social and psychological support to astronauts, who are isolated and confined in a space station or a spacecraft. Dennis J. Frederiksen's work focuses on how support can be provided without sacrificing precision and operational value.


As a communication researcher, Dennis analyzes and develops interpersonal communication between astronauts in space and crew on the ground. In this session, he showed how communication can be both task efficient and personally supportive based on authentic radio communication between the International Space Station, ISS, and ground crews.


Dennis J. Frederiksen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University. As a communication researcher, he analyzes and works with development of interpersonal communication between crew in space and people in mission control on the ground.



Watch the full session for free on the Space Education Summit YouTube channel. This was presented during session one of the the 3rd Space Education Summit, which was hosted by the Human Space Program, with support from ARES Learning, Celestial Citizen, Earthscape VR, and Ignited Thinkers.


Learn more about the ARES Learning approach in the book Space Education: Preparing Students for Humanity's Multi-Planet Future by our co-founder Dr. Mark Wagner, and explore a complete Space Education Curriculum developed for high schools - it's a free and open education resource available to students, teachers, and enthusiasts everywhere.


Educators, sign up for online professional development based on the book and curriculum. Space is limited and registration ends soon!


Join the free online Space Educator Network for ongoing resources and discussion.


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