Although these findings are based on methods employed by extraordinary athletes, the strategies deserve testing on others as well. Space offers new opportunities for space sports, but we don't know if such sports will be of general interest. It is likely that exercise facilities, like recreational facilities, must cater to the special interests of individuals. We need to determine if, by addressing the interests of the individuals, and by providing them with a means of increasing skills and tracking progress, we can improve the likelihood that an exercise program will be maintained. A critical habitability concern for long duration spaceflight is the need for privacy.
Privacy is a balance between forces to affiliate and forces to withdraw.
This balance helps an individual define himself and his relationship to others. An important question is just what this balance implies in space. In confinement, many of the accustomed mechanisms for privacy regulation are either lacking in the environment, or inappropriate to the situation. Although withdrawal is an effective form of privacy regulation, it is destructive to group cohesion and ultimately to mission goals. For extended spaceflight, alternative means must be found both to protect privacy and to foster effective group functioning.