Space Flight Task Contexts for Long Distance and Duration Exploration Missions

Abstract

An effort is currently underway to determine methods for measuring safety and performance of human- automation systems to improve their functioning for future long duration space flights. However, an important step in system evaluation is understanding the contexts in which they operate. The identification of contexts will help in targeting what variables may be related to the overall system’s effectiveness. A review of NASA documents and literature has resulted in the identification of four categories of task contexts that are believed to be important for future Long Distance and Duration Exploration Missions (LDDEM) to Mars and beyond. These four categories include (1) spacecraft navigation, (2) robotic/habitat operations, (3) systems monitoring, and (4) mission planning and scheduling. Within each of these four task categories there exist varying task demands and environmental conditions that impact the user’s interaction with the automation and, subsequently, the types of measurement that are appropriate for analyzing performance and safety within the human-automation system.