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Canceled TRL 3 (started at 3, targeting 6)
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. Future space exploration, including missions to Mars, will include a significant communication delay between astronauts and those on Earth (e.g., friends and family, medical and psychological support providers, mission control, ground teams). Even as space telecommunication technology evolves, the sheer distance between Mars and Earth will result in a significant delay estimated to be at least 8-22 minutes each way, depending on the positioning between Earth and Mars. These delays require a paradigm shift in crew-ground relations with strategies and technologies that support: (1) maintaining astronaut and Earth friends and family relationships asynchronously, (2) executing Earth independent operations with remote strategic and tactical advisory from mission control, and (3) enabling Earth independent medical operations with Earth-based remote, asynchronous care.
The Crew Connectedness Advanced Communication Platform (CCACP) leveraged expertise from both NASA JSC’s research and operations behavioral health and performance (BHP) teams to seek a technology development strategy for mitigating communication challenges during exploration missions. The project began with investigating communication platforms used at NASA, other government agencies, and commercial entities for potential application to the needs of exploration missions utilizing Yet2’s comprehensive network for conducting comprehensive market surveys. This work provides the groundwork for future technological development to implement such a system for future missions with asynchronous communication.
Following the identification of the requirements and high level needs of such a communication platform, a market survey was conducted to determine the suitability of existing technologies. The search identified potential vendors which were then down selected to four of interest. The project provided data to identify a path forward for either the development of a new communication platform or iteration and contextualization of currently available platforms and technologies for application to exploration missions.
Current behavioral health and performance support such as private psychological conferences and private family conferences relies on real-time communication from ground. Exploration missions will require a shift toward crew autonomy in maintaining behavioral health and performance, as well as effective teaming with Earth-based providers. Development of an exploration communications platform will facilitate connection with family and friends to reduce adverse crew behavioral health and performance outcomes.
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