Panel Discussion: Will space limit human performance?

David Krakauer introduces our panel discussion: Will space limit human performance?

With the Artemis mission on the horizon and Elon Musk’s insistence on crewed Martian missions by 2030, considering how humans might live in space is at the forefront of our global collective mind. But what is required of those intrepid volunteers to flourish in highly radiated, lower gravity, austere environments beyond our atmosphere? How do the requirements for individual space explorers compare to the needs of a team mission?

In order to think through the potentially challenges to acumen, athletic capacity, and psychological dynamics for future human space travel, let’s first consider what it takes for an Earthling to excel in extreme human undertakings here. From morphological prowess to intellectual problem solving, from rigid training to adaptability mid-performance, how might observed examples of successful human endeavors inform a strategy for achieving momentous success once we move the performances to even more challenging environments.

For this panel, we convene 4 experts to ruminate on the limits to human performance as we’ve observed them here, so as to speculate on the limits to human performance off-planet.

Jessica Flack is an evolutionary biologist studying collective computation across all scales of nature, from bird flocks to brain cells to group behaviors in complex societies.

John Krakauer is a Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Director of the BLAM lab, and interested in motor control, skill acquisition, potential modes of neuro-rehabilitation, and the Philosophy of Mind.

Brandon Ogbunu is a computational biologist working in across ecology and evolutionary biology, interested in the intersection between sports, data, science and culture.