I also imagine you prep very differently for an 8 day mission vs a 6 month mission. In terms of physical fitness, trainings, family life etc.
Psychological fitness, too. 8 days away from civilizations is a very different mental state to get into than 8 months away.
Imagine being stuck in a space station 250 miles away from the human population for 8 months with one other person and they have some annoying roommate quirk, like snoring in their sleep
“Hey can you feed my cat for a week while I’m in space?”
Vs
“So I’m stranded in space for the next 8 months, can you just adopt my cat for the foreseeable future?”
Hiring a dogsitter, making sure the house is maintained and tidy, everything. Think about the difference between going on a 1 week vacation and taking an entire year to go hike a triple crown trail.
I’m certain NASA helped them with a contingency plan in this case. Pretty sure they also planned out if their craft crashed.
Like for sure. An astronaut has more assistance with this from the ground crew than any of the rest of us. But that’s all shit these astronauts are going to be thinking about and stressed about that needs to be discussed on calls to update them on the situation that wouldn’t have been if things were going according to plan
On the upside, it will be great scientifically to see how long term space living effects those not fully prepared for it. I’m sure they are better than your average earthling, but it will be useful to see how they compare mentally, physically, etc, to other long term astronauts.
