Dark Side of the Moon

While it might seem thrilling compared to your cubicle, working on the moon could prove to be just as drab and mundane a job in the long run. Chester Spell, a professor at the Rutgers School of Business, has done research that suggests the lunar settlements of tomorrow—and, for that matter, the space stations of today—could pose serious mental-health challenges for employees working in semi-isolation. Spell says that anxiety will likely be heightened in a lunar living space, and depression more apt to spread from one crew member to another. —Greg Mone