Too much time with colleagues can sour social interaction

AFTER 10 days in space, Christina Koch described her Artemis II crew as “inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked”. Reid Wiseman, another of the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts, said they were “bonded forever”.

Scientists overwintering in Antarctic research stations might greet such statements with a collective eye roll and a suggestion that the astronauts try 10 months together, as opposed to 10 days.

Research published this week in the scientific journal PNAS shows how a winter in Antarctica can invert the normal benefits of social interaction.