Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP)

Exploration missions will feature austere habitable environments, small volumes, mass constraints, limitations in infrastructure (such as bandwidth limitations) and communications delay that will impose challenges to evaluating and maintaining crew's behavioral health and performance.

Two Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) projects currently underway in collaboration with the JSC Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) group to address these challenges include VR use for the selection and training of astronauts and the testing of Holographic Teleportation (HT) as a means for crew and family communication and connectivity.

VR Software Development for Crew Selection & Training:

Exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit will require crews with carefully selected and honed skill sets. Currently, creating a large number of high-fidelity, in-vivo scenarios for the assessment of astronaut applicants is not feasible with the limited time and needed resources during astronaut selection.

Utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) and mixed reality (XR) technology to simulate flight-like scenarios would allow for a more accurate and efficient way to evaluate the skills of applicants. Other applications of behavioral simulations could also include training astronaut candidates on specific competencies as well as for ongoing refresher training onboard space vehicles for refreshing expeditionary skills.

VR applicant selection scenarios were created and piloted and data collected for evaluation. The project will be transitioned to operations to be utilized in astronaut candidate training and skill development.

Holographic Teleportation as a Support Tool:

NASA has long recognized the importance of communication between crew and family members to support crew and family wellbeing. Technologies used for communication will need to adapt to the challenges posed by anticipated communication delays while helping crewmembers, their families, and care providers (flight surgeons, psychologists) remain connected. The XMIPT project with BHP conducted a preliminary comparison of currently available crew communication methods to holographic teleportation (HT). Holography is the technique used to capture and produce a 3D image, or hologram.

The pilot resulted in a better understanding of the feasibility and potential advantages and disadvantages of the various methods and potential applicability in support of lunar and Martian crews. The pilot found many advantages of the use of HT, however, the technology readiness did not achieve desired targets. HT may be revisited for use between crew and family members in the future as the technology advances.

VR technology is widely used within the agency for training and conducting simulations. Using VR technology for astronaut selection will provide a greater variety of scenarios in which to evaluate potential applicants. For both selection and training, VR use reduces the cost and use of resources compared with current methods.

Principal among potential benefits of HT communication would be a sense of increased emotional connectedness between crewmember and family members, beyond what is offered by current technologies.

The preliminary testing shows that VR-based Lunar Geology mission simulation offers a realistic, high-fidelity Team-based experience that participants found to be a valuable and worthwhile experience. Participants reported the VR Lunar Geology simulation tasks offered realistic, mission-like environments requiring task completion involving Team-Action Processes and Team-Interpersonal competencies and expeditionary skills relevant for Artemis and Mars missions. This XMIPT integrated project delivers technology focused on mission-relevant simulations to assess team processes and competencies that cannot be replicated in real life without significant time and cost.

The project will be transitioned from XMIPT technology development to Operations.  Plans are to incorporate the project into ASCAN training and skill development.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — 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.

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