Psychological Factors Associated with Habitat Design for Planetary Mission Simulators

Knowledge and experience of human and technological problems on long-duration missions to Moon and Mars, is at best minimal or worst-case non-existent, as these expeditions are yet to be undertaken. Problems stemming from isolation, inter-group relationships, human response to and interaction with spacecraft interiors in a confined isolated environment have been studied, but in limited ways. On future long-duration planetary missions, the internal environment of the habitat or transit vehicle will be of greater importance than it has been in low earth orbit or short-term missions to the Moon. This paper is in the realm of environmental psychology. In the context of designing space habitats for future long-term interplanetary human space missions, it postulates that it is ‘mission critical’ to closely integrate ‘space architecture, cognitive sciences, human-technology interface design, environmental and personal psychology’. It points out that future planetary simulators are an opportunity to study the relationship between habitat design and crew psychology. The paper begins with an overview of the origin, scope and limitations of human factors as practiced in the aerospace industry. It presents two case studies that illustrate past endeavors attempting to understand human behavior in the context of long-term isolation and confinement in extreme environments. It highlights behavioral research in Antarctica and its implications for environmental design. It draws attention to a recent study by the European Space Agency that emphasizes the need for psychological research using planetary simulators. It concludes with a discussion that includes (a) the reasons why the relationship between ‘habitat design’ and ‘crew psychology’ has not been studied to the extent it should have been, (b) the need for modeling this relationship as a complex ‘system’ with multidimensional interactions between the various elements in the system, and (c) recommendations for undertaking such studies in the future. The paper concludes with an overview of the various components of the ‘system’ that could serve as a first step towards modeling and understanding the relationship mentioned above.