Problem Scope
The future of space exploration will encounter unprecedented challenges and situations differing in scope from previous space missions. Unlike in the past, the crew's reliance on Mission Control will be limited for reinforcement and decision-making. Realistic scenarios, such as life on Mars and the voyage to Mars, lead to many untouched design opportunities for technology, experiences, and displays, for future space exploration.
The three main domain focuses are supporting the astronauts through resilience, awareness, and robotics. Drawing upon relevant scholarship and literature (HCI, Engineering, Psychology, NASA, etc.), our team is crafting ideas about the role of design in supporting the future astronaut and mission control experience on Mars.
Who are we creating for?
Our team’s vision is to collect data on the astronauts, flight controllers, engineers and other people of the now to craft meaningful designs for the future roles of space exploration. To bridge the gap between the current and future, our team is committing to shaping the next era of human potential through a human-centered design approach to push research and design into uncharted territories. By understanding the people, tasks, contexts, and challenges of the now, we hope to ideate concepts for individuals of the future who have yet to step into the spotlight.
Phase 1:
Develop an understanding of the context.
Exploring Relevant Literature
To ground ourselves within the context, our team explored relevant literature, presentations, and videos throughout the process to continuously strengthen our understanding. Our team primarily did this to build our foundation of knowledge and have multiple lenses for framing the problem. Since the topic is relatively new and the specific domain lacked an abundance of research, our team researched a variety of information. Therefore, this led to exploring similar domains, methodologies, and concepts.
Relevant Concepts & Terms: adaptations, anomaly, astronauts, communication, coordination, decision-making, design, display, experts, flight controllers, ISS, macro-cognitive challenges, mission control, NASA, resilience, sense-making, situational awareness, space exploration, teamwork, and uncertainty.
Figure 1 - Visualization of some of team’s interest and exploration into secondary research.
About the Interview Study
The interview protocol consisted of semi-structured open-ended questions with the intent of making the subjects answer the questions according to their understanding and beliefs. We utilized cognitive task analysis techniques to extract more specific experiences from the participant’s memory.
For each interview, a lead interviewer conducted the interview to increase efficiency. As an undergraduate, I was never expected to lead the interviews and primarily played a shadowing role. At the end of each interview, I did participate in the discussion and asked my questions!
Goal - Investigate practices and perspectives of mission controller operators and astronauts regarding using visual displays (and other factors) to increase situational awareness during anomaly situations to prepare for future Mars anomalies.
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1) Understand how displays are used by flight controllers for fault detection and diagnosis regarding the ISS.
2) Understand how visual displays are used by astronauts on the ISS.
3) Understand how ISS astronauts and ground control work together to solve problems, especially regarding data sharing and visualization.
4) Elicit needs and expectations for future anomaly response by astronauts where communication with Earth is limited (Mars habitats).
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1) Flight Controllers, Engineers, and other personnel in mission control who use visual displays and/or data visualizations for fault detection and diagnosis regarding the ISS
2) Astronauts who have spent time on the ISS
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23 Participants
Semi-structured interviews using cognitive task analysis techniques
45 hours of data have been collected
All interviews lasted between 50 and 122 minutes averaging 101 minutes.
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We are hoping to provide relevant findings to multiple communities including:
NASA
Design
Display
Current Results
Data Collection:
Our team has interviewed 23 expert participants and collected over 45+ hours of data.
Figure 2 - A photo of myself conversing with an Anonymous Astronaut during the Interview Study.
Expanding Theory with Publications:
As mentioned prior, our team has had the opportunity to publish multiple papers, one of which I was able to contribute!
In April of 2022, our team wrote and published a paper at CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) suggesting that adaptive performance can be used as a generative theory for problem and solution framing in design.
Figure 3 - Publication at SpaceCHI discussing Human-Centered Design Techniques for this Futuristic Space Context.
Phase 2:
Analyze interview data to identify thematic concepts, valuable insights, and collect anomaly experiences.
Example of Interview Data Analysis
While our team continues to analyze the data, I have provided an example to show the process. Below is an excerpt from one of our interview transcripts. Speaker 3, a previous CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator, primary communicator between ground and astronauts, typically a retired astronaut) flight controller, has been asked to recall, “What is monitoring and managing attention like for CAPCOM displays?”
Figure 4 - Example of a coded interview analysis I conducted.
The participant responds by recalling knowledge from their CAPCOM experience. Within the response, I identified and coded concepts relating to maintaining situational awareness, macro-cognitive challenges experienced in the role, and more.
By stringing responses together, our team can understand our users better, learn their struggles, and provide suggestions to create a better experience. Although, because our team has over 45+ hours of interview data, this process will be time-consuming. But, our team hopes to provide relevant data and suggestions to NASA and the research community.
