← Back to NASA Technology Projects
Space Mission Human Reliability Analysis, Year 1 (HRA)
Completed
TRL 4 (started at 3, targeting 4)
Description
The purpose of the Space Mission Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Project is to extend current ground-based HRA risk prediction techniques to a long-duration, space-based tool. Ground-based HRA methodology has been shown to be a reasonable tool for short-duration space missions, such as Space Shuttle and lunar fly-bys. However, longer-duration deep-space missions, such as asteroid and Mars missions, will require the crew to be in space for as long as 400 to 900 day missions with periods of extended autonomy and self-sufficiency. Current indications show higher risk due to fatigue, physiological effects due to extended low gravity environments, and others, may impact HRA predictions. For this project, Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) will work with Human Health & Performance (HH&P) to establish what is currently used to assess human reliability for human space programs, identify human performance factors that may be sensitive to long duration space flight, collect available historical data, and update current tools to account for performance shaping factors believed to be important to such missions. This effort will also contribute data to the Human Performance Data Repository and influence the Space Human Factors Engineering research risks and gaps (part of the HRP Program). An accurate risk predictor mitigates Loss of Crew (LOC) and Loss of Mission (LOM). The end result will be an updated HRA model that can effectively predict risk on long-duration missions. The purpose of this project is to extend current ground-based Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) techniques to a long-duration, space-based tool to more effectively predict the risk associated with human actions on long-duration missions. By doing so, the agency will be able to focus resources on the risk drivers, such as specific training, conditioning, procedures, exercising, etc. for these future missions. NASA uses Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs) to assess the probability of Loss of Crew (LOC) and Loss of Mission (LOM). PRAs take into account multiple contributing factors and their interactions, such as how the crew, software, and hardware work together to achieve mission objectives. HRA is used to assess the human contribution to risk in PRAs. Current HRA techniques were developed for ground applications using Earth based human reliability data to estimate human error probability. These ground-based HRA techniques have been shown to be a reasonable tool for short-duration space missions, such as Space Shuttle and lunar fly-bys. However, longer-duration beyond Earth orbit missions, such as asteroid and Mars missions, will require crews to be in space for 400 to 900 days with periods of extended autonomy and self-sufficiency. Current indications show higher risk due to fatigue, physiological effects due to extended low gravity environments, and others, which may impact HRA predictions by affecting the crew's cognitive abilities, as well as their physiology, and yield a higher probability for LOC and LOM (e.g. early return). PRAs will need to account for these effects in order to provide management, designers, and the crew our best estimate of risk. With the funding of this IR&D project over the next three years, Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) will collaborate with Human Health & Performance (HH&P) to establish what is currently used to assess human reliability for human space programs, identify human performance factors that may be sensitive to long duration space flight, collect available historical data, and update current tools to account for performance shaping factors believed to be important to such missions. JSC's Human System Integration (HSI) initiative is a work in progress to better understand how the crew, software, and hardware work together and ensure that HSI is accounted for in future space mission designs.
Benefits
HRA provides a risk prediction analysis tool for assessing the human's role in the Human System Integration (HSI) process (human, hardware, and software). In general, this project extends our current understanding of crew reliability for long duration space missions by assessing the human error probability portion of the HSI process to yield safer and more reliable human space missions.#The NASA Johnson Space Center Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate (S&MA) currently performs Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) for all human space programs' Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRAs), except the International Space Station (ISS). Human Health and Performance (HH&P) is the recognized subject matter expert for HH&P.#HH&P has expertise in human error testing of human-system interface design and performance, behavioral, physiological health, and performance research on long-duration space-flight impacts, and effective and affordable human factors methodologies. The resulting tool can be used by both organizations to improve crew safety, performance, and design of future missions, such as Mars, asteroid, and lunar surface missions. HRA is also required for human rating of exploration flights. The ESD has long-duration space flight missions identified in their Architectural DRMs. An updated HRA model that can accurately predict risk on such missions will be needed by ESD in the near future in order to verify the LOC requirements of these missions.#This effort will also contribute data to the Human Performance Data Repository and influence the Space HFE research risks and gaps as part of the HRP. The HRP is actively doing research on long-duration performance and the impacts that long-duration spaceflight may have on the human. The results of the HRP research, analog studies, and work on performance shaping factors can be leveraged to update the model. FCI Operational Habitability Database can also be leveraged for the ISS and Shuttle operational human performance data. The model for long-durations missions will only be as good as the data available to input, thus it is critical that we take the time to identify all of the data required. This effort may also benefit the HRP in planning of research in the field, by highlighting focus areas needed for more accurate predictions. In this time of doing more with less, HRP may be able to focus on a smaller number of factors, as predicted by the method. Depending on the results of the proposed data analysis, long-term effects on human isolation and fatigue may apply to the US Navy's submarine crews and Antarctica expeditions, as well as the US Coast Guard. As the commercial space industry expands to longer duration missions and/or beyond low Earth orbit, the same effects observed by NASA will also be applicable to commercial crews.
Details
| Technology area | Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems > Human Systems Integration > Human Factors Engineering |
| Program | Center Innovation Fund: JSC CIF (JSC CIF) |
| Lead organization | Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX |
| Start date | 2013-12-01 |
| End date | 2015-02-14 |
Project contacts
Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.
How to get involved
This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.
None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.