Human performance in extreme environments: From the battlefield to the final frontier

Humans operate in an increasingly diverse assortment of extreme environments. From deep sea divers supporting offshore drilling operations, military exercises in the desert, and space crews aboard the International Space Station (ISS), personnel must perform under physically and psychologically challenging conditions. Humans, however, are not naturally suited to endure such environments and are therefore reliant on technology and training for safety, mission success, and in many cases, survival. The goals of this panel discussion are to 1) expose the unique challenges of performing in extreme environments, 2) uncover valuable similarities between seemingly different environments, and 3) present how lessons learned in one environment can be applied to others to improve human performance. Panelists address these goals with discussions on specific topics including combat aviation (Barnett), stress in extreme environments (Cuevas), barometric pressure changes and the human body (Fletcher), and military operations (Lampton).