Which detail was not a struggle for the astronauts

training
using a monitor to see what you are working on
hot sun
tools breaking

as for symbolic actions, the narrator's tearing down the wallpaper in an attempt to find the "woman" in the wallpaper represents her struggle to retain or regain her sanity.   the wallpaper has been part of her confinement and by her tearing it down, she is freeing herself from that confinement.

an great real life example for the lottery principle is the real life lottery itself. it adheres to the lottery principle so much it's even called lottery. you apply for the lottery in the manner of getting a ticket and if you are lucky, the goods are distributed to you, in this case, the huge amounts of money. there are other real life example but this is the best one.