Performance on the Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT-r) Spaceflight Simulation During Acute Sleep Deprivation

Abstract

Exploration of deep space poses many challenges. Mission support personnel will not be immediately available to assist crewmembers performing complex operations on future long-duration exploration operations. Consequently, it is imperative that crewmembers have objective, reliable, and non-invasive metrics available to aid them in determining their fitness for duty prior to engaging in potentially dangerous tasks. The Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT) task is NASA's platform for training astronauts to perform docking and grappling maneuvers. It is regularly used by crewmembers during spaceflight for refresher training. The operational ROBoT system, however, does not record data. Thus, a research version of ROBoT, called ROBoT-r, was developed so that operationally relevant data could be mined to provide feedback to crewmembers. We investigated whether ROBoT-r metrics would change according to sleep loss and circadian phase in a 28-h laboratory-based sleep deprivation study. Overall, participants showed improvement over time despite sleep loss, indicating continued learning. Performance on the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) followed an expected profile, with reduced performance across the night. These findings suggest that individuals may be able to temporarily compensate for sleep loss to maintain performance on complex, novel tasks. It is possible that some ROBoT-r metrics may be sensitive to sleep loss after longer bouts of wakefulness or after individuals have habituated to the task. Studies with additional participants and extended pre-training on the ROBoT-r task should be conducted to disentangle how brain activity may change as individuals learn and habituate to complex tasks during sleep loss.

Sleep, time, and space—fatigue and performance deficits in pilots, commercial truck drivers, and astronauts

“…The research about pilots [ 40–42 , 45 , 47–49 , 51–53 , 58 , 60–62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ], truck drivers [ 50 , 56 , 63 ], and astronauts [ 43 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] included laboratory studies (e.g. conducted in stimulators) [ 43 , 44 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] and field investigations (where data acquisition occurred during normal occupational activities) [ 40–42 , 45–52 , 54 , 55 , 58 , 60–65 , 67 ].…”

“…The research about pilots [ 40–42 , 45 , 47–49 , 51–53 , 58 , 60–62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ], truck drivers [ 50 , 56 , 63 ], and astronauts [ 43 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] included laboratory studies (e.g. conducted in stimulators) [ 43 , 44 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] and field investigations (where data acquisition occurred during normal occupational activities) [ 40–42 , 45–52 , 54 , 55 , 58 , 60–65 , 67 ]. Most pilots were employed by commercial airlines (to transport passengers) [ 40–42 , 45 , 47–49 , 51 , 53 , 60–62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ] with the exception of studies about maritime piloting (to guide ships) [ 52 ] and military transport operations [ 58 ].…”

“…Two papers about truck drivers utilized the same group of drivers (who had irregular start times) [ 56 , 63 ]; another sample of truck drivers worked rotating day- and night-shifts with predictable start times [ 50 ]. Data were also provided by astronauts assigned to the International Space Station (ISS) [ 43 , 46 , 54 , 57 , 59 ] and Space Transportation System [ 43 ] as well as healthy volunteers who participated in simulated missions [ 44 , 57 , 59 , 66 ]. The key findings across studies were organized to reflect the following themes: (1) sleep characteristics; (2) fatigue during work, (3) schedules and circadian rhythms; and (4) variables affecting performance.…”

“…Sleep was measured objectively in space [ 43 , 46 , 54 , 55 ] and on Earth [ 41–43 , 45–50 , 53 , 56 , 61–63 , 65 , 66 ]. In addition to actigraphy [ 41–43 , 45–50 , 53 , 54 , 56 , 61–63 , 65 , 66 ], subjects completed sleep diaries [ 43 , 45–50 , 53 , 54 , 60 , 62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ], and questionnaires, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quantity Index (PSQI) [ 40 , 42 , 50 , 66 ] and Athens Insomnia Scale [ 40 ]. Polysomnography was utilized in one study for a quantitative analysis of the cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) in astronauts before, during, and after a space mission [ 55 ].…”

Brains in space: the importance of understanding the impact of long-duration spaceflight on spatial cognition and its neural circuitry

“…Operational performance can be assessed by simulating spaceflight-related tasks such as using robotic arms to capture a transiting spacecraft or to control a spacecraft to maneuver it and dock it to another vehicle (Ivkovic et al 2019;Johannes et al 2017). Successful completion of the maneuvers relates to various cognitive domains, including but not limited to situational awareness, planning, decisionmaking, object orientation, mental rotation, visual processing, fine motor control, and visual motor integration (Wong et al 2020). It can be hypothesized that complex tasks assessing the encoding, processing, storage, and retrieval of visuospatial information could be particularly vulnerable during spaceflight.…”