Human Factors and Behavioral Research at a Mars Analog Habitat

Long-duration space missions pose many challenges to the health of the crew and success of the overall mission. In addition to hazards of the space environment, such as radiation exposure and the effects of microgravity on the human body, poor interactions between crewmembers can result in tension, conflict, or degraded performance. Although scientists have learned a great deal about how to reduce the effects of physical hazards to the crew, few studies have examined ways to monitor the functioning of the crew during a long-duration mission in order to avoid breakdowns in crew performance. This research had two goals. First, we collected data on crew function and performance by administering a battery of behavioral and performance measures to a seven-person crew, comprised of five undergraduate students and two graduate students, during a 2-week mission to the Mars Desert Research Station in Winter 2013. Second, this setting provided a unique opportunity for human factors students to develop a research protocol and then collect data in a field setting. Each study addressed different ways to support crew psychological health in long duration spaceflight.