This week, Joe closes the season with an Everyday Mars conversation focused on something every future Martian — and every remote worker — will face: workplace anxiety and occupational health.

To tackle this subject, we're joined by Dr. Craig Jackson, a leading occupational health psychologist whose research examines how work affects human psychological wellbeing, particularly in extreme, remote, and high-stress environments. Their conversation spans decades of research and real-world case studies, including incidents at Antarctic research bases, fatigue and burnout, psychological screening for astronauts and remote workers, and what happens when isolation and pressure compound over time.

They also explore the overview effect, delayed communication, long working hours, and the psychological realities of confined, high-responsibility workplaces — drawing clear parallels between Earth-based analogs and future Mars missions.

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode briefly touches on the subject of suicide from 21:00 to 27:20. Please feel free to skip this section if you prefer.

The episode also serves as a moment of reflection and gratitude. It’s a grounded, thoughtful close to a season dedicated to the human stories behind the dream of living on Mars. We are deeply grateful for your engagement and support this past year as we have dived into the lives of aspiring Martians the covered topics that future Mars settlers will be most interested in. We're profoundly excited to show you what's next in Season 2!

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A huge thank you to Dr. Craig Jackson for joining me todayand sharing his expertise and time, to Nick Thorburn for the absolute banger ofa theme song, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka,and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for supporting thisproject — even when Mars becomes a full-time dinner conversation.

Research:

Workplace Anxiety,Isolation, Polar & Extreme Environments

Palinkas, L. A., & Suedfeld, P. (2008)

The Lancet

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17655924/

Palinkas, L. A. (2003)

American Psychologist

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12784972/

Antarctic Harassment& Safety Climate

U.S. National Science Foundation – Office of Polar Programs(July 2024)

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2024/nsf24586/nsf24586.pdf

Suicide Risk, SleepDisruption & Remote Work

Bernert, R. A., et al. (2007)

Sleep Medicine Reviews

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17368981/

Pigeon, W. R., et al. (2020)

Scientific Reports

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-70866-6

Fatigue, CircadianMisalignment & Extreme Work

Parkes, K. R. (2017)

Safety Science

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753517300957

Arendt, J., et al. (2022)

Nature and Science of Sleep

https://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-circadian-phase-in-sleep-and-performance-during-antarctic–peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NSS

DelayedCommunication, Autonomy & Mars Missions

NASA Ames Research Center (2025)

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20250003885/downloads/NASA%20TM20250003885.pdf

Kanas, N., et al. (2015)

Acta Astronautica

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576514003996

O’Leary, M. B., Wilson, J. M., & Metiu, A. (2014)

Organization Science

https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2013.0876

Gibbs, J. L., et al. (2021)

Annual Review of Organizational Psychology andOrganizational Behavior

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-060248

Mars &Spaceflight Analog Missions

Basner, M., et al. (2014)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1403716111

NASA Human Research Program

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/evidence/

Trauma, IntrusiveMemories & Tetris Studies

Holmes, E. A., et al. (2009)

PLoS ONE

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004153

Overview Effect, Awe& Perspective Shift

Yaden, D. B., et al. (2016)

Psychology of Consciousness

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-17436-001