Scientist Says Astronauts Should Take Psychedelic Mushrooms in Space

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In the future, as space agencies prepare to send human crews deep into space to explore or terraform distant worlds, they may need to equip astronauts with additional resources to support mental well-being and morale.

Psychedelic Support for Astronaut Mental Health

When astronauts experience loneliness, depression, trauma, or general distress, a carefully managed dose of psychedelic mushrooms could provide meaningful support, mycologist Paul Stamets suggested to Scientific American. While unconventional, the proposal gains traction as growing evidence highlights the potential mental health benefits of psilocybin — the active compound in “magic mushrooms.”

“Under carefully controlled conditions, our astronauts [being] able to take psilocybin in space and look at the universe and not feel distant and alone but feel like they’re part of this giant consciousness will give them a better frame of mind — psychologically, emotionally — to work with other astronauts and stay on mission,” Stamets told the magazine. “I feel that isolation, loneliness, and depression are going to be major issues that astronauts face.”

NASA-Funded Research into Fungi in Space

To be clear, Stamets did not speak with SciAm solely to advocate for psilocybin use during long-duration missions. He is also receiving NASA funding to investigate numerous other applications of fungi that could improve life in space.

These include constructing habitats and shelters from fungal materials and using mushrooms’ ability to break down regolith into fertile soil to help terraform new worlds.

“It’s much easier to take one seed and grow your food than it is to take a ton of food to space, right?” Stamets told SciAm. “Nature is incredibly efficient in terms of a payload. It’s much better for nature to generate a payload of food than for your rocket to carry a payload of food.”

Psilocybin as Part of a Psychological Toolkit

Although the concept of including psilocybin in an astronaut’s medical kit remains speculative, Stamets strongly believes it merits serious consideration.

“I say this with great sincerity: NASA and anyone else working and looking at the settlement of space, you should consider that psilocybin mushrooms should be an essential part of your psychological tool kit for astronauts to be able to endure the solitude and the challenges of space and isolation,” he told SciAm.

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