{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":91434,"title":"Decision Support System Development for Human Extravehicular Activity","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10821,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10818,"level":3,"code":"TX11.2.3","title":"Human-System Performance Modeling","definition":"Human-system performance modeling ensures that new and relevant human-related technologies are infused into all vehicle and habitat designs and associated operational concepts. Digital human models have their greatest impact on mission design if the validated models can be seamlessly integrated within mission models.","exampleTechnologies":"Integrated human-systems models, human digital twin, toolset for automated task generation for human-system modeling, augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR)","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"The following outcomes are expected by this research project to further develop human- system performance in deep space to improve the decision making of astronauts in EVA and lessening their dependency of mission control. 1) Characterized list of mission control functional roles and constraints pertaining to support planetary EVAs. 2) Cognitive engineering based decision support tool for astronauts conducting deep space EVAs. 3) Working understanding of mission control operations in deep space EVAs in a non-real-time environment. As a result of this research, designers can infuse this DST into future habitat, vehicle, and suit concepts for human extraterrestrial exploration.","description":"The extension of human presence into deep space will depend on how successfully human planetary extravehicular activities (EVAs) are conducted without real-time mission control support. Current human planetary EVA technology and experience has been derived from the Apollo era exploration of the moon. With the advancement of cognitive engineering modeling, decision support tools (DST) development for planetary EVA has the potential to dramatically improve human exploration capabilities on extraterrestrial bodies. The work outlined in this proposal seeks to develop a DST capable of providing real-time decision making support in the absence of mission control support for astronauts in an extraterrestrial EVA environment. This research plans to implement a cognitive work analysis coupled with iterated field-test experiments in Earth analog-test sites to provide verification and validation capabilities to produce a DST for human planetary EVAs. The cognitive work analysis will provide the constraints needed to define the functional requirements of the DST. Once the requirements definition phase is complete, a prototype will then be built. Evaluation of the prototype will then be conducted in an Earth analog field-testing environment. Post processing of the testing will reveal design modifications which will then feedback to the redesign of the DST for further evaluation. This iterative process will enable performance enhancement of the DST function. The following outcomes are expected by this research project to further develop human- system performance in deep space to improve the decision making of astronauts in EVA and lessening their dependency of mission control. 1) Characterized list of mission control functional roles and constraints pertaining to support planetary EVAs. 2) Cognitive engineering based decision support tool for astronauts conducting deep space EVAs. 3) Working understanding of mission control operations in deep space EVAs in a non-real-time environment. As a result of this research, designers can infuse this DST into future habitat, vehicle, and suit concepts for human extraterrestrial exploration. As stated in the NASA’s Draft of Modeling, Simulation, Information Technology and Processing for Technology Area 11 (TA-11), decision support tools are recognized as a game-changingtechnology for Human-System Performance Modeling. This proposed research has the opportunity to implement game changing technology in an area of NASA that has been unaltered for more than half a century.","startYear":2013,"startMonth":8,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":9,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":259398,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Karen","lastName":"Feigh","fullName":"Karen Feigh","fullNameInverted":"Feigh, Karen","primaryEmail":"karen.feigh@gatech.edu","publicEmail":false,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":84634,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Claudia","lastName":"Meyer","fullName":"Claudia M Meyer","fullNameInverted":"Meyer, Claudia M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"claudia.m.meyer@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":84634,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Claudia","lastName":"Meyer","fullName":"Claudia M Meyer","fullNameInverted":"Meyer, Claudia M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"claudia.m.meyer@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":183514,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Hung","lastName":"Nguyen","fullName":"Hung D Nguyen","fullNameInverted":"Nguyen, Hung D","middleInitial":"D","primaryEmail":"hung.d.nguyen@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":271433,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Kerry","lastName":"Mcguire","fullName":"Kerry M Mcguire","fullNameInverted":"Mcguire, Kerry M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"kerry.m.mcguire@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"coInvestigators":[{"contactId":322761,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Matthew","lastName":"Miller","fullName":"Matthew J Miller","fullNameInverted":"Miller, Matthew J","middleInitial":"J","primaryEmail":"mmiller@cryoworks.net","publicEmail":false,"nacontact":false}],"website":"https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/home/index.html","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":75661,"projectId":91434,"transitionDate":"2017-09-01","path":"Closed Out","details":"Human spaceflight is arguably one of humankind’s most challenging engineering feats, requiring carefully crafted synergy between human and technological capabilities. One critical component of human spaceflight pertains to the activity conducted outside the safe confines of the spacecraft, known as Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Successful execution of EVAs requires significant effort and real-time communication between astronauts who perform the EVA and the ground personnel who provide real-time support. As NASA extends human presence into deep space, the time delay associated with communication between the flight crew and Earth-bound support crew will cause a shift from real-time to delayed communication. A decision support system (DSS) is one possible solution to enhance astronauts’ capability to identify, diagnose, and recover from time critical irregularities during EVAs without relying on real-time ground support. The contributions of this thesis are two fold. The first is domain specific and addresses the known deficiencies that will impact future human EVA operations. The second is methodological and generalizable across many domains. This thesis demonstrates that Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) can be applied to yield design insight in the form of high level design requirements amenable to traditional systems engineering. Beginning with the first two phases of CWA, a broad work domain analysis of EVA is made to identify the system constraints on EVA operations. Subsequently, Control Task Analysis models were developed that yielded a set of DSS design requirements in the form of cognitive work and information relationship requirements which reflect the underlying states of knowledge associated with supporting EVA operations. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates how a subset of those requirements, along side envisioning and testing within a future work context, can yield prototype DSS designs suitable for supporting future EVA operations. Finally, this thesis included a human-subject study to evaluate the resultant prototypes against the requirements to demonstrate both validity of the requirements and the verification of the design. As a result, this thesis contributes the underlying science needed to design a DSS within the EVA work domain for future mission operations.","infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"","dateText":"September 2017"}],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"STRG","active":true,"description":"
\tThe Space Technology Research Grants Program will accelerate the development of "push" technologies to support the future space science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and the commercial space sector. Innovative efforts with high risk and high payoff will be encouraged. The program is composed of two competitively awarded components.
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