Entertainment Computing in the Orbit

Abstract

During ultra long space missions (i.e. to Mars), the isolated space environment affects a number of physiological, psychosocial and mental processes critically involved in human performance, and it is vital to missions' success to understand the psychological limits. Past experiences in space have shown that the mental health of a crew can have a great effect on the success or failure of a mission. Latent and overt stress factors are mental strain, interpersonal problems, and lack of capability to rescue crew members, isolation, monotony, and tedium of life aboard an autonomous shuttle. Abstract These issues develop very slowly over time and are very difficult to detect and remedy for observers on the ground. E.g. long-term isolation can lead to sleep deprivation, depression, irritability, anxiety, impaired cognition, and even hostility. Providing astronauts with entertainment products can help to maintain the mental health of the crew. The results of this project will deepen the understanding of intra-and inter-individual crew behaviour and related performance, and provide the technical platform for a new type of crew assistance tools based on multi-user computer games.

Situated cognitive engineering for crew support in space

“…We specified a sound-theoretical and empirical founded-set of requirements for such a system and its rational consisting of scenarios and use cases, user experience claims and core support functions. For further development of the MECA knowledge base and its ontologies, we will conduct evaluations of long duration missions (e.g., Mars 500; [40]), for both off-nominal and nominal situations, with crews in relatively isolation and with more astronaut involvement (cf. [41]).…”

Nonverbal Behavior Observation: Collaborative Gaming Method for Prediction of Conflicts during Long-Term Missions

“…The first concept of the AMHA project has been done within Mars-500 experiment for 105 days isolation [4,5,6,7]. In 2004 the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow and the European Space Agency have started to plan a full-scale ground based simulation of a manned mission to Mars.…”

“…Based on the previous AMHA design, the study of the Colored Trails game performed during MARS-105 [4,5,6,7] and data analysis, presented in previous section and [4], we lay down conditions and requirements to extend the rules of the game, and experiment by itself.…”