Ad Astra is a film that follows astronaut Roy McBride (played by Brad Pitt) during a space mission to find his father. When strange power surges imperil humanity, U.S. Space Command suspects that McBride's father (played by Tommy Lee Jones), who left years ago on a mission to the outer solar system, may have something to do with these phenomena. McBride is assigned to make contact with his father as a way of addressing the power surges. To accomplish this task, McBride follows in his father's footsteps, on a journey from Earth to the Moon, Mars, and Neptune.
Ad Astra joins a growing list of recent films, including Moon (2009), Gravity (2013), Interstellar (2014), The Martian (2015), and Lucy in the Sky (2019), that delve into psychological aspects of human space travel. The film explores the emotional ties between a son and his distant father, the meaning of human connection in highly technological environments, and the question of whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.
The field of forensic psychiatry has paid limited attention to human spaceflight. Yet Ad Astra touches on a number of themes related to psychiatry and the law. The first spoken words in the film are, “I'm calm, steady. I slept well. 8.2 hours. No bad dreams. I am ready to go.” Prior to working or traveling in space, McBride repeatedly undergoes automated psychological evaluations in which he wears a medical patch on his neck and speaks to a computer. A digital voice responds to his comments, typically announcing, “Your psychological evaluation has been approved,” after McBride has made just a few statements. Even for the distant future, these check-box statements seem rather simplistic for determining psychological fitness to participate in potentially isolating or life-threatening space missions. Viewers soon realize that these computerized assessments are part of a wider net of psychological surveillance by Space Command. As an astronaut assigned to watch over McBride tells him, “You're going to be monitored constantly, your mental state, your emotional state.”
These scenes raise several questions for forensic psychiatrist viewers. Which criteria are used to screen in or to screen out space travelers? Can an astronaut have a mental disorder, or would any such condition or a subset of mental disorders be considered disqualifying? What about substance use disorders? Are these screening criteria codified in legal statutes, or are they developed outside of regulations as best practices within the military or commercial industry?1
A 2016 report by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration noted, “While mood and anxiety disturbances have occurred, no behavioral emergencies have been reported to date in space flight” (Ref. 2, p 9). Ad Astra explores the significance of seemingly subtle behavioral health factors during space travel. Traveling to Mars, McBride and the crew of the ship Cepheus encounter a spacecraft broadcasting a distress signal. Captain Tanner (Donnie Keshawarz) says that they are “obligated to stop,” which mirrors existing space treaties outside of the film with regard to assisting astronauts in distress.3 In a moment of apparent fear, First Lieutenant Stanford (Loren Dean) hesitates to go, so McBride volunteers to help. Tanner is killed during this detour, and Stanford assumes command of the ship. Later, when a power surge jeopardizes their approach to Mars, Stanford again freezes at a critical moment, unable to maneuver the ship, and McBride takes over controls to safely land the spacecraft. Given that Stanford presumably underwent psychological screening prior to spaceflight as well, viewers are left to wonder the degree to which these screening tools serve their intended purposes. Upon landing, McBride says to Stanford, “Captain, I believe you understand why I did that. I will not report it to SPACECOM.” This remark highlights not only the astronauts' awareness of potential reprisals from authorities due to performance concerns, but also how astronauts might subvert systems put into place to mitigate behavioral health risks.
Additional behavioral health supports are shown throughout the film. After McBride boards Cepheus to travel to Mars, Tanner says, “Command, we're going to give out the mood stabilizers now,” as pills are distributed in zero-gravity to the crew members. Tanner quips that Space Command would not want one of the astronauts “getting all emotional again.” This scene touches on important questions about psychotropic use during human spaceflight.4 For long-duration space missions with limited resources and storage, how are decisions made about which and how much psychotropic medication to bring onboard? When might astronauts be permitted, or even required, to take psychotropic medications during these missions? On Mars, McBride spends time in “comfort rooms” that display calming nature scenes on the walls, indicating the use of nonpharmacologic interventions. A crisis counseling sign (“There is hope, make the call”) is also shown on Mars.
Nick Kanas, a psychiatrist and an expert on space psychology, wrote in 2015 about some unknowns regarding the future of space travel and crime: “Will there be a jail for criminals and sociopaths? What sort of legal system will there be, and how will law-breaking be enforced?” (Ref. 5, p 135). In Ad Astra, the Moon is divided into warring territories, and a gun battle erupts during a rover chase. In a video transmission from the outer solar system, McBride's father describes how “some of our people have been unable to handle the psychological distress of being so far away from home” and discloses that he killed off his colleagues by disabling their life support. To reach Neptune and his father, McBride hijacks the Cepheus, leading to the deaths of several crewmembers.
It is intriguing to consider the ways in which legal frameworks related to psychiatry will develop alongside space exploration. In 2005, Jonas Rappeport wrote, “Does forensic psychiatry have a future? Will it be around in 2029, 25 years from now? I believe it will be here and with increased recognition of what the field has to offer” (Ref. 6, p 263). For those who wonder about our field's place decades, or perhaps centuries, in the future, Ad Astra provides a launching pad for discussion.
Footnotes
Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None.
- © 2020 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
