Staying sane in space
All In The Mind
ABC Australia
4.5 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 11 April 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the last couple of weeks, a lot of people have been getting excited about space exploration thanks to Artemis II.
So this week, we revisit an episode from our archives all about life as an astronaut and the psychological impacts of long distance space travel.
And if you enjoy this episode, check out Artemis Explained, a podcast from the Science Friction team, following the Artemis II mission.
This episode was first broadcast in March 2024.
You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Guests:
- Dr Albert Holland, Senior Operational Psychologist, NASA Johnson Space Center
- Dr Cady Coleman, Former NASA astronaut
- Jamey Simpson, Cady's son
With excerpts from:Space: The Longest Goodbye, directed by Ido Mizrahy
Credits:
- Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
- Producer: Rose Kerr
- Sound engineer: Simon Branthwaite
More information:
To view the transcript for this episode, please head to its original webpage.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | ABC Listen, Podcasts, Radio, News, Music, and more. |
| 0:07.4 | Hey, it's Sana Khadar here. |
| 0:09.7 | If you've been watching the progress of the Artemis II mission this past week, |
| 0:13.1 | you have probably seen that humans have now travelled further from Earth than ever before. |
| 0:20.3 | And I don't know about you, but it's had me mesmerized. |
| 0:23.8 | It's had me awestruck. |
| 0:25.7 | Like, there are just so few good news stories around that this one has really been a bright spot this past week. |
| 0:31.9 | And so we thought it would be a good chance to replay an episode from our archives, |
| 0:36.1 | which is all about life as an astronaut, what it takes |
| 0:39.3 | to be mentally fit for life as an astronaut. Here's the episode. |
| 0:46.2 | It was a magical place to live and work, and it takes really just like the touch of a finger |
| 0:52.3 | to fly across the space station and you really |
| 0:54.9 | don't walk anywhere. And it's just so clear that every single thing that you're doing is actually |
| 1:03.2 | moving us forward towards exploring the universe, living on the moon, and in preparation for perhaps Mars. |
| 1:12.6 | Fewer than 700 people have ever been to space. Only 276 people have ever visited the International |
| 1:22.6 | Space Station. And only 44 of those have been women. |
| 1:30.3 | That basically makes Katie Coleman a unicorn. |
| 1:35.2 | My name is Katie Coleman, and I am a former NASA astronaut. |
| 1:39.3 | So how old were you when you first thought, I want to be an astronaut one day? |
| 1:41.8 | Probably about 20. |
| 1:42.5 | Oh, wow. |
| 1:43.5 | I know. |
... |
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