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Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2024 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 11/30/2023  
Task Last Updated: 02/28/2024 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: May 2020 report: Dr. Tofighi withdrew as Co-Investigator from the project effective July 1, 2019.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Whitmire, Alexandra  
Center Contact:  
alexandra.m.whitmire@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date corrected to 11/30/2023 per PI and JSC Grants-Technical Officer (Ed., 2/29/24)

NOTE: End date changed to 03/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 11/15/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 11/30/2023 per A. Beitman/JSC (Ed., 9/12/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 9/30/2023 per V. Lehman/JSC (Ed., 4/18/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 3/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 7/12/21)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2021 per NSSC information (Ed., 5/21/2020)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2024 
Task Progress: BACKGROUND. Long-duration space exploration missions will inevitably require crew autonomy as a result of significant delays and disruption in space/ground communication. The introduction of crew autonomy will represent a significant operational shift from current practice and will necessitate the creation of a new sociotechnical system in which the roles and responsibilities of humans in space and humans on the ground have to be redefined (Kanas & Manzey, 2008; Manzey, 2004). Autonomy is generally defined as self-governance in terms of self-sufficiency and self-directedness; that is, self-reliance or independence of and freedom from outside interference. Incorporating crew autonomy into spaceflight will be challenging as crews will continue to be members of the space/ground multiteam system (MTS), which is rooted in the interdependence and collaboration of teams (Mathieu, Marks & Zaccaro, 2001). These potentially conflicting requirements produced by crew autonomy introduce a certain degree of tension within the MTS. The overall positive impact of task autonomy on individuals’ motivation, satisfaction, and task performance has been well documented in laboratory and field research (Langfred & Moye, 2004; Roma Hursch, Hienz, Brinson, et al., 2013). On the other hand, studies in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) indicate that crew autonomy could potentially be disruptive to space/ground collaboration (Frank, Spirovska, McCann, Wang, et al., 2013; Kanas, Saylor, Harris, Neylan, et al., 2010).

OBJECTIVE. The aims of this project were (1) to examine how crew autonomy affects the individual team members (crew and mission control personnel), as well as intra (crew)- and inter (MTS)-team states and processes, and (2) suggest recommendations for the implementation of autonomy that will be most supportive of MTS effectiveness, as well as (3) identify countermeasures to enhance the ability of space crews and ground personnel to collaborate effectively during autonomous space missions.

METHODS. Data were collected in 10 space mission simulations conducted in two analog facilities: HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Medical-Technical Ground-Based Experimental Complex in Moscow, Russia (SIRIUS).

HERA Campaigns 5 and 6 (C5; C6) each involved four missions that were comparable in terms of duration (45 days), crew size (4 crewmembers per mission) and operational tasks but differed with respect to their operational design. HERA C5 missions mimicked current mission operations and served as control conditions to HERA C6 missions that included an autonomy manipulation. Mission control in HERA C5 included 12 members of the Flight Analog Group at JSC acting as HABCOMs (as the stand-ins for MCC); HERA C6 included 15 HABCOMs.

SIRIUS 19 and 21 simulated lunar missions, with a duration of 4 and 8 months, respectively. Participants in S-19 were 6 crewmembers and 24 medical staff members representing MCC; 5 crewmembers and 23 medical staff participated in S-21. Both S-19 and S-21 involved high crew autonomy, with crew/MCC communication delayed by 5-min one way.

Our research used a multi-pronged approach, comprising surveys, analysis of crew/MCC communication, and post-mission interviews with MTS members. Surveys at the MTS-level tapped crewmembers’ and mission controllers’ shared identity, their perception of cohesion among members of the space/ground MTS as well as the efficacy of the MTS. Simulations included several unexpected events/tasks that tested crewmembers’ willingness to reach out to and cooperate with MCC. Task-related surveys concerned crewmembers’ and mission controllers’ evaluation of teamwork and task performance, and their ratings of the crew’s and MCC staff’s task contribution. Analyses of crew/MCC communication during tasks examined communication quantity, conversational control (i.e., who initiated communication on a topic), and the extent to which communications supported common ground between component teams. Post-mission interviews were conducted with crewmembers (HERA C6 and SIRIUS 21) and MCC (HERA C6) to gain insights into participants’ views of autonomy, concerns they had, issues they encountered, and visions of how autonomy should be managed within the MTS.

At the intra-team level, we used the SYMLOG (System for Multiple Level Observation of Groups) to assess the team dynamics of HERA and SIRIUS crews. Crewmembers rated each other with respect to behaviors that represent three important dimensions of team interaction—positive/negative, dominant (active)/submissive (introverted) and task-oriented/expressive (joking) behavior (Parke, 1985). Based on their ratings, a group diagram was created, and statistics were calculated to characterize the crew’s team dynamics and then to relate these team-level parameters to MTS variables.

Measures at the individual level assessed MTS team members’ affect, workload, and stress. Data for HERA and SIRIUS crewmembers were provided by NASA JSC’s HFBP group via a data-sharing agreement. MCC data were collected by us.

RESULTS. It is clear from the data gathered in our research that autonomy does impact the space/ground MTS in significant ways and that problems and fault lines observed in remote collaboration may be exacerbated by crew autonomy (Ball & Evans, 2001; Gushin, Zaprisa, Kolinitchenko, et al., 1997; Kanas & Manzey, 2008; Stuster, 2010). Our data revealed that analog participants and their respective MCC personnel had differing concepts of what autonomy meant and differing expectations of their responsibilities and the parameters of their collaboration. This caused confusion about MTS roles as well as the boundaries of autonomy. Crews viewed autonomy in terms of self-sufficiency (SIRIUS 21) or self-directedness (HERA C6) and felt annoyed when their expectations were not met which, in turn, led to frustration and irritation targeted at MCC.

Crew autonomy was found to weaken cohesion among members of the space/ground MTS, and to lower confidence in the efficacy of their collaboration. Survey data showed that MTS members in autonomous missions reported less inter-team cohesion and efficacy than crew and MCC who worked under current operational conditions. Interview data, in addition, revealed that crewmembers considered reaching out to MCC for assistance as a last resort and an infringement on their autonomy. These findings are consistent with Shuffler and Carter’s (2018) notion that "countervailing forces" such as empowering component teams may help them but to the detriment of MTS performance.

Our analyses indicated that crew autonomy may undermine common ground among members of the space/ground MTS. Both crewmembers and MCC stated in post-mission interviews that there would be less need for space/ground communication during autonomous missions, but component teams differed in their assessment of this development. While crewmembers portrayed it as a natural consequence of crew autonomy, MCC worried that less inter-team communication would deprive them of important mission updates and ultimately impair their ability to assist crews. Our analysis of crew/MCC communication in HERA C5 and C6 corroborated the interview data. We observed that the crew and MCC talked less during autonomous missions, and importantly, that autonomous crews delayed informing MCC about off-nominal events and failed to keep them apprised of their actions and procedures compared with control crews. Similar behaviors were noted for the SIRIUS crews. Additionally, SIRIUS crewmembers exercised more autonomy than HERA crews insofar as they ignored or questioned requests and in the case of SIRIUS 21, at times seemingly minimized the seriousness of off-nominal events.

In contrast to survey data that indicated decrements in MTS cohesion and efficacy, both crew and MCC emphasized in post-mission interviews that successful autonomous missions require a partnership between crew and MCC, built on trust, mutual respect, and interpersonal relationships. For crewmembers, this partnership implied that MCC would treat them as an equal team with different responsibilities, respond to requests in a timely fashion and provide accurate and clear information. For MCC salient aspects were that the crew would keep them informed about their actions and treat them as a resource. A theme shared by crewmembers and MCC was the acknowledgment that long-duration space missions will require trust and strong social cohesion, possibly friendship, between space and ground team members. These findings echo the view expressed by Roma and Bedwell (2017) that social cohesion, apart from task cohesion and technical competence, may become particularly critical to team effectiveness as exploration missions extend in duration.

Disconnects between component teams were evident regarding shared identity and task work. Crewmembers and MCC of autonomous and control missions alike tended to focus on members of their component team rather than the MTS as a source of shared identity. Likewise, crewmembers and MCC harbored different views about MCC’s contribution to task performance, with crewmembers giving little credit to MCC. These kinds of disconnects between component teams could impact MTS functioning over the course of long-duration space missions, creating an in-group/out-group "us versus them" attitude that can be detrimental to MTS cohesion and performance (Verhoeven, Kramer, & Shuffler, 2022) and may lead to conflict and competition between the teams (Lanaj, Hollenbeck, Ilgen, Barnes & Harmon, 2013).

Related analyses at the intra-team showed that aspects of a crew’s team dynamics—in particular, a positive team climate—were associated with MTS cohesion and efficacy, suggesting that processes at the level of the crew may influence processes within the space/ground MTS and vice versa, processes at the level of the MTS may impact processes within the crew. Post-mission interview data corroborated this latter point as crewmembers described how MCC behavior led to intra-crew conflict.

At the individual level our data indicate that MTS members’ affective states—mood, workload, and stress—were less affected by crew autonomy per se but may be more impacted by mission duration. Higher negative affect was reported, and workload and stress increased over the course of the SIRIUS missions, in particular the 8-month mission.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Together our survey and interview data, as well as communication analysis identified critical issues that countermeasures need to address to ensure MTS effectiveness during autonomous space missions. As others have stressed the preparation of crew and mission support personnel for space exploration will require that training goes beyond individual technical knowledge and skills or work processes centered on component teams, and instead will have to take place in an MTS context (Pendergraft, Carter, Trainer, Jones, et al., 2021; Salas, Tannenbaum, Kozlowski, Miller, et al., 2015; Shuffler & Carter, 2018; Verhoeven et al., 2022). The present research adds to this body of work by pinpointing specific issues (such as social cohesion and interpersonal relationships between MTS members) or behaviors (communication practices) that training should target.

Autonomous space missions will necessitate that we rethink how crew and MCC can maintain common ground on mission status and crew activities. Current communication procedures will need to be modified since their design presumes almost real-time space/ground communication and is centered on the information requirements of ground personnel in mission control. Instead, communication procedures for autonomous missions have to be consistent with crew autonomy and long communication delays. Existing communication protocols (Fischer & Mosier, 2021; Mosier & Fischer, 2021) designed to support crew/MCC interactions under time delay could provide a structural template, and information needs and communication norms could be developed participatively by stakeholders to ensure MTS member’s compliance with communication requirements during missions (Asencio, Carter, DeChurch, Zaccaro, & Fiore, 2012). Furthermore, MCC should use communication styles in their interactions with crewmembers that reinforce their partnership. Possible approaches include team-centered communication (Fischer & Orasanu, 2000) or an autonomy-supportive communication style (Goemaere et al., 2018; 2019).

Delays in space/ground communication will severely disrupt if not eliminate an essential experience of synchronous remote communication, namely the sensation of connectedness and copresence; the perception that a remote partner is "real" and present in the "here and now" and that partners are psychologically connected despite their physical distance (Kreijns & Weidlich, 2022; Oh, Bailenson, & Welch, 2018). A novel communication tool—Braiding—was designed to alleviate this problem and could be used in scheduled conversations between MTS members, in particular, boundary spanners from component teams- to maintain interpersonal relationships and foster social cohesion.

Intelligent systems and shared technologies will be important enablers of crew autonomy. Both types of technologies support self-sufficient action by crewmembers without direct involvement of and interaction with ground personnel. However, by reducing crew reliance on ground support, these technologies also reduce opportunities for contact between space and ground teams and thus may undermine critical MTS components, in particular, social cohesion, interpersonal relationships, and team communication. It is therefore important that the implementation of intelligent technology is balanced with requirements—informational and affective—that arise from the fact that humans in space and humans on Earth will continue to work together as part of a MTS.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Fischer U, Mosier K, Mueller ST, Veinott E. "Differential impact on task and social cohesion measures during long-duration spaceflight simulations." 67th International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Washington, DC, October 23-27, 2023.

Abstracts. 67th International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Washington, DC, October 23-27, 2023. , Oct-2023

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Mueller ST, Veinott E, Fischer U, Mosier K. "Modeling teamwork over time: Findings from long duration spaceflight simulations." 14th International Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference, San Francisco, California, July 20-24, 2023.

Abstracts. 14th International Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference, San Francisco, California, July 20-24, 2023. , Jul-2023

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Fischer U, Mosier K, Mueller ST, Veinott E. "The impact of crew autonomy on the space/ground multiteam system." 2024 NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop, Galveston, TX, February 13-16, 2024.

Abstracts. 2024 NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop, Galveston, TX, February 13-16, 2024. , Feb-2024

Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2023 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 03/31/2024  
Task Last Updated: 04/29/2023 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: May 2020 report: Dr. Tofighi withdrew as Co-Investigator from the project effective July 1, 2019.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Whitmire, Alexandra  
Center Contact:  
alexandra.m.whitmire@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 03/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 11/15/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 11/30/2023 per A. Beitman/JSC (Ed., 9/12/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 9/30/2023 per V. Lehman/JSC (Ed., 4/18/23)

NOTE: End date changed to 3/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 7/12/21)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2021 per NSSC information (Ed., 5/21/2020)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2023 
Task Progress: The current report summarizes data collected in SIRIUS 21 as this simulation ended on July 3, 2022, while the final mission of HERA C6 was just completed on March 12, 2023. To date analyses at the level of the crew/mission control center (MCC) multiteam system (MTS) concerned crewmembers’ and mission support personnel’s team concept, their perception of MTS cohesion, efficacy, and taskwork. Analyses at the level of the crew are ongoing and address crewmembers’ team concept and team dynamics, their understanding of teamwork, and the interrelationships of these variables. Interviews with crewmembers explored their definition of crew autonomy and relationship with ground support.

Analyses at the MTS level indicate that crewmembers and mission controllers not only were physically apart but also had different views on important aspects of their collaboration. Their team concepts did not overlap and MCC tended to be more optimistic about the efficacy and collaboration of the MTS than crewmembers were about their relationship with MCC. The interviews we conducted with SIRIUS 21 crewmembers provided some insights into the reasons for these discrepancies.

Thirty-minute interviews were conducted with crewmembers, split into two groups. One group of three included English-speaking members; the second group consisted of two Russian-speaking crewmembers and one translator. Interviews were recorded and automatically transcribed, and the accuracy of the transcriptions was verified by the research team. Interviews addressed broad questions, such as crewmembers’ experience of autonomy during the mission, the impact of crew autonomy on the crew/MCC MTS, and how MCC could best support crewmembers during long-duration exploration missions.

The interviews made clear that crewmembers primarily associated crew autonomy with self-sufficiency; that is, a crew should be able to complete tasks on their own. However, a recurrent sentiment in the interviews was that crewmembers did not feel autonomous because they lacked the necessary information or required training and thus had to rely on MCC. Crewmembers reported that they turned to MCC for assistance but as a last resort and felt that having to do so curtailed their autonomy. They considered autonomy as a natural consequence of becoming proficient in tasks, a development which also entailed that fewer interactions or communications with MCC were required. Crewmembers emphasized that crew autonomy should be based on a partnership between the crew and MCC. For crewmembers, this meant that MCC treat them as professionals, respond to them in a timely fashion, and provide clear and timely input.

The interviews also revealed that there was disagreement concerning the role of MCC, disagreement both within the crew as well as between some crewmembers and “people on the outside.” For some crewmembers, it was important to have a personal relationship with the MCC, to get to know them and feel supported by them. Other crewmembers, and apparently members of Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), wanted to define the relationship as one that is strictly task-related and impersonal.

Together our survey and interview data suggest that crew autonomy may exacerbate fault lines of remote collaborations that have been observed in past crew/MCC interactions and concern issues, such as Us versus Them thinking, psychological closing by crewmembers, displacement of negative emotions by crew onto MCC, and disconnects in crew and MCC’s task and team models. Our data further suggest that introducing crew autonomy into spaceflight will require that members of the MTS have a shared understanding of what autonomy entails in terms of both the distribution of responsibilities between crew and MCC and the collaboration between the teams. Specifically, there needs to be a shared understanding of the boundaries for self-sufficient crew action as well as of the parameters defining the collaboration between crew and MCC. Clearly, crew autonomy should not mean that the crew considers turning to MCC for assistance as an infringement on their autonomy. Conversely, MCC’s behavior should not infringe on the crew’s sense of agency. Our interview data showed that crewmembers reacted strongly, and negatively if they perceived that MCC were not treating them as an equal and competent partner.

Analyses at the crew level have examined the team dynamics of the crew based on crewmembers’ team concept and their responses to the SYMLOG (=Systematic Multi-Level Observation of Groups) instrument. Ongoing analyses address similarities and differences in crewmembers’ teamwork models and the relationship between crew cohesion and MTS cohesion. Analyses of crewmembers’ team concept and team dynamics indicated the presence of subgroups and showed their influence on crewmembers’ assessment of their teamwork. Additional analyses will be conducted to explore the relationship between subgrouping, team dynamics variables and team measures, such as team conflict and crew cohesion.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Mosier, K, Fischer, UMueller, S, Veinott, E. "Building shared perceptions of teamwork across time." 66th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Atlanta, Georgia, October 10-14, 2022.

Abstracts. 66th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Atlanta, Georgia, October 10-14, 2022. , Oct-2022

Papers from Meeting Proceedings Fischer U, Mosier K. "Crew Autonomy within the Space/Ground Multiteam System." NASA Human Research Program Investigator Workshop in Galveston, Texas, February 7-9, 2023.

Abstract. NASA Human Research Program Investigator Workshop in Galveston, Texas, February 7-9, 2023. , Feb-2023

Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2022 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 03/31/2024  
Task Last Updated: 04/25/2022 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: May 2020 report: Dr. Tofighi withdrew as Co-Investigator from the project effective July 1, 2019.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Whitmire, Alexandra  
Center Contact:  
alexandra.m.whitmire@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 3/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 7/12/21)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2021 per NSSC information (Ed., 5/21/2020)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2022 
Task Progress: Phase-2: Research in Long-duration Exploration Mission Simulations Our research is included in the NASA Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 6 (C6) and the 2021 Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station (SIRIUS 21) analog at the NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) facility. Both simulations were originally scheduled to start in November 2020 but had to be postponed until fall 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first mission of HERA C6 was conducted during September and November 2021; mission 2 during January and March 2022. Missions 3 and 4 are scheduled to commence in May and August 2022, respectively. SIRIUS 21, an 8-month space simulation, started in November 2021 and is still ongoing. In the present report, we summarize data collected thus far and discuss them in relation to the preceding HERA C5 and SIRIUS 19 simulations. The focus of the report is on the crew/mission control center (MCC) multiteam system (MTS); analyses on the team (crew and MCC) and individual level are ongoing and have not been included.

HERA C6 – Examining the Impact of Increasing Crew Autonomy on the Crew/MCC MTS

The four missions of HERA C6 follow the general mission design implemented in HERA C5 concerning crew size (4 members), duration (45 days), mission objectives (conduct geological operations at a near-Earth asteroid and an array of life science experiments), mission schedule, and presence of communication delays (30sec, 1 min, 3 min, and 5 min, dependent on simulated distance to Earth). They differ from C5 missions insofar as they incorporate a crew autonomy manipulation of increasing autonomy. Crew autonomy is gradually introduced with the onset of delays in space/ground communication and after an initial period of no-autonomy, and involves giving a crew increasing control over the schedule of operational tasks.

C6 missions also replicate our study design implemented in C5; that is, the same 8 experimental tasks (for the crew unexpected off-nominal events) were built into a mission and the same surveys administered to crewmembers and mission control personnel. As in HERA C5, surveys explore the team concept held by crewmembers and mission controllers, their perception of task and social cohesion among members of the space/ground multiteam system, and their assessment of the multiteam system’s efficacy. Task-related surveys ask crewmembers and mission controllers to evaluate their teamwork on operational tasks, task performance, and the crew’s and MCC staff’s task contribution. Presently we have collected data from 2 missions involving 8 crewmembers and 9 mission control personnel.

Our analysis of HERA C6 data thus far indicate little impact of crew autonomy on relevant team variables –crewmembers’ and MCC’s team concept; social and task cohesion between crew and MCC; participants’ assessment of the efficacy of the crew/MCC MTS and their task management and performance—if they are examined on the team level. MCC personnel and crewmembers in the two autonomous missions examined to date showed responses comparable to those given by participants in missions involving no crew autonomy. Once data collection is complete, multi-level analyses will be conducted to account for individual differences in participants’ attitudes towards and responses to autonomy. Moreover, crewmembers indicated in survey responses and the post-mission interview that they had experienced relatively low levels of autonomy throughout a mission which, in turn, may have influenced how they perceived their team and relationship with MCC.

Analysis of post-mission interviews with crewmembers and MCC personnel identified several issues that point to specific countermeasures to support space/ground collaboration during exploration missions. While interviews with participants in upcoming HERA missions (M3 and M4) and the SIRIUS 21 crew may provide further insights, critical issues raised thus far were: (1) diverging expectations by crew and MCC concerning their own and the other team’s role and responsibilities during autonomous missions, and (2) insufficient trust and communication between members of the crew/MCC multiteam system – issues that could be addressed through team training involving members of both crew and MCC as well as through the modification of existing procedures specifying space/ground collaboration.

SIRIUS 21 –Examining the Impact of High Crew Autonomy on the Crew/MCC MTS

SIRIUS 21 is currently ongoing, with a scheduled end date of July 2, 2022. This 8-month mission replicates the mission design of the previous 4-month SIRIUS 19 mission and includes extended lunar operations to accommodate the longer mission duration. The multi-national crew of six includes 3 Russian participants, 2 from the US and 1 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 23 participants serve as ground support (MCC). The study design replicates our work in SIRIUS 19 as well as HERA C5 and C6 missions, with surveys probing crewmembers’ and mission controllers’ team concept, and their perception of social and task cohesion among members of the space/ground MTS – and tap their shared understanding of task and teamwork.

Our analyses indicate that in both SIRIUS simulations divergent perspectives were apparent between SIRIUS crewmembers and mission controllers in their judgment of cohesion in the space/ground MTS and its efficacy. SIRIUS crewmembers perceived less unity with and closeness to mission controllers than vice versa and, more importantly, they also perceived less shared task commitment between members of the multiteam system than mission controllers. Likewise, crewmembers were less confident than mission controllers that their teams were able to communicate and collaborate effectively. One contrast in the SIRIUS missions appeared in their assessment of MCC’s importance to task success. SIRIUS 19 crewmembers tended to perceive a bigger role of MCC in task success than crewmembers in SIRIUS 21 who did not attribute much weight to MCC.

Because these findings are based on one space simulation and one ongoing simulation involving two teams of crewmembers and mission controllers, it is certainly premature to draw any conclusions about the impact of crew autonomy on the crew/MCC multiteam system. Nonetheless, it is worth pointing out that some of our observations, notably concerning MTS cohesion and efficacy and perceptions of teamwork, are consistent with the hypothesis that crew autonomy may disrupt common ground between crewmembers and mission controllers.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2022
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2021 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 03/31/2024  
Task Last Updated: 04/21/2021 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: May 2020 report: Dr. Tofighi withdrew as Co-Investigator from the project effective July 1, 2019.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Whitmire, Alexandra  
Center Contact:  
alexandra.m.whitmire@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 3/31/2024 per NSSC information (Ed., 7/12/21)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2021 per NSSC information (Ed., 5/21/2020)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2021 
Task Progress: Planned missions to be conducted in Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 6 and in the NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) facility SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station)-- SIRIUS 20/21-- were delayed by a year due to Covid-19. Both simulations were expected to start in November 2020. HERA C6 is currently scheduled to begin no earlier than mid-September 2021 and SIRIUS 21 (formerly SIRIUS 20) is scheduled for November 2021. As a result of these delays, our efforts during the past year pertained to the planning of HERA C6 and SIRIUS 21.

Furthermore, since no new data were collected, analyses during the past year focused on data that were obtained during HERA C5 and SIRIUS 19 and that were not covered in last year’s report. Data pertain to participants’ responses to surveys that tap individual traits (i.e., Need for Autonomy; Resilience) and knowledge (i.e., Teamwork Model) critical to successful autonomous space exploration missions. We also examined the communications between crew and crew/mission control (MCC) that occurred during experimental tasks. Descriptive analyses only were conducted since meaningful inferential and modeling approaches will require the larger N that data collection in HERA C6 and SIRIUS 21 will supply.

Need for Autonomy (Yun et al., 2006) is a 3-item measure to assess an “individual trait or predisposition that refers to a personal need or eagerness to take or display one’s initiative in doing one’s own job.” A participant’s score can range from 1 (indicating little need for autonomy) to 5 (indicating high need for autonomy). The analysis of HERA and SIRIUS crewmembers’ responses revealed that their scores ranged from 3 (i.e., a neutral attitude towards autonomy) to 5 (i.e., a strong predisposition towards autonomy). The analysis also revealed that some crews showed less variability in members’ self-reported need for autonomy than others. Future analyses involving data collected in HERA C6 and SIRIUS 21 will examine whether individual differences regarding this trait relate to the cohesion and group dynamics within a crew.

The Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008) includes 6 items that assess an individual’s “ability to bounce back or recover from stress.” A participant’s score can range from 1 (indicating low resilience) to 5 (indicating high resilience). The analysis of HERA and SIRIUS crewmembers’ ratings showed that resilience scores fell between 3 and 5; i.e., scores ranged from moderately to highly resilient. Moreover, crews were found to differ concerning the average resilience score of their members and the variability in scores between members of a crew. Future analyses on a larger data set will need to explore whether and how these differences relate to team process (cohesion, group dynamics) and task performance variables.

Teamwork Model. Crewmembers’ and MCC personnel’s model of teamwork was assessed early in their mission-related training to determine whether members of the crew/MCC multiteam system had a shared understanding of teamwork. The survey included eight teamwork concepts and their definitions—Leadership; Mutual Performance Monitoring; Backup Behavior; Adaptability; Team Orientation; Shared Mental Models; Mutual Trust; and Team Communication. Participants were presented with pairs of concepts (e.g., Leadership and Team Communication; Leadership and Trust; etc.) and asked to rate how closely related the concepts within a given pair were.

Participants’ ratings were analyzed using Pathfinder (Schvaneveldt, 1990), a software that generates a network representation to capture the underlying relationships between proximity data. Average representations were created for each crew and for the MCC personnel interacting with a given crew. The models generated revealed considerable agreement between members of the crew/MCC multiteam system concerning central teamwork concepts. Central concepts for HERA crews and MCC were team communication and leadership. SIRIUS crew and MCC also considered team communication to be a central concept of teamwork. Interestingly, leadership was not a central concept in the teamwork model generated for SIRIUS MCC personnel. This may reflect differences in the operational role MCC played in the HERA missions compared to SIRIUS 19. Since SIRIUS 19 involved high crew autonomy, MCC in this mission was cast in a more supportive role than MCC in HERA. HERA C5 missions followed current operations with MCC largely in control of a mission. Data from HERA C6 and SIRIUS 21are needed to explore this issue further.

Crew/MCC Communication during Experimental Tasks. Communication coding focused on task-related exchanges between crew and MCC. An exchange was defined as communication sequence consisting of two parts: the presentation of information by a speaker, and the addressee’s answer in which he/she provides evidence of attention, understanding and uptake (Clark, 1996). Coding identified the MTS member (crew or MCC) who initiated the exchange and classified the type of contribution—that is, whether the speaker pushed information (i.e., informed, gave directions or assistance to the addressee) or whether he/she pulled information (i.e., requested information or assistance from the addressee).

The analysis of crew/MCC communications in HERA showed that regardless of task event, most exchanges were initiated by the crew. Moreover, these contacts predominantly involved information sharing. Since crewmembers volunteered task-related information, there apparently was little need for MCC to request (i.e., pull) information from crewmembers. Accordingly, in most exchanges that were initiated by MCC, they provided information or directed crewmembers’ actions. Results from this analysis will serve as baseline for the analysis of crew/MCC communication in HERA C6 missions that will involve comparable tasks but varying levels of crew autonomy.

In SIRIUS, most task-related communications were found to be initiated by MCC who predominantly asked the crew for information, most frequently to submit some report; that is, information requests tended to concern updates on crew performance.

References

Clark, H. H. (1996). Using Language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Schvaneveldt, R. W. (1990). Pathfinder associative networks: Studies in knowledge organization. Ablex Publishing.

Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., et al. (2008). The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15, 194-200.

Yun, S., Cox, J., & Sims Jr., H. P. (2006). The forgotten follower: a contingency model of leadership and follower self-leadership. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(4), 374-388.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Fischer U, Mosier K. "Examining teamwork of space crewmembers and mission control personnel under crew autonomy: A multi-team system perspective." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 2020 Dec;64(1):164-8. (64th Annual Conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Virtual Meeting, October 4-9, 2020.) https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181320641041 , Dec-2020
Books/Book Chapters Fischer U, Mosier K. "Mitigating the impact of communication delay." in "Psychology and Human Performance in Space Programs: Extreme Application." Ed. L.B. Landon, K.J. Slack, E. Salas. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2020. p. 101-114. Book doi: https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429440854 , Oct-2020
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2020 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 06/28/2021  
Task Last Updated: 05/14/2020 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: May 2020 report: Dr. Tofighi withdrew as Co-I from the project effective July 1, 2019.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Williams, Thomas  
Center Contact: 281-483-8773 
thomas.j.will1@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2021 per NSSC information (Ed., 5/21/2020)

NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2020 
Task Progress: Over the past year data collection was completed in two space mission simulations. The Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station (SIRIUS)-19 mission ended in July 2019, the last of the four Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) C5 missions ended in March 2020. Preliminary findings of these studies will be summarized below. Our research was also selected for inclusion in two upcoming space simulations. Details on these missions will be provided in the second section of this report.

HERA C5 consisted of four missions, each with a duration of 45 days. Missions involved communication delays (increasing from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, one-way) and were identical concerning objectives and schedule. The overall mission objective was to conduct geological operations at a near-Earth asteroid. In addition, each crew was to conduct scientific experiments, vehicle systems maintenance, and educational outreach. 16 astronaut-like participants were recruited as crewmembers (4 per mission); 12 members of NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Flight Analogs group acted as mission control personnel (HABCOMs). As HERA C5 missions did not involve any crew autonomy manipulation, they will serve as baseline conditions to simulations with crew autonomy: SIRIUS 19, and upcoming HERA C6 and SIRIUS 20/21 simulations.

SIRIUS 19 was a 4-month simulation that involved a high level of crew autonomy as the crew was expected to solve problems largely independently of mission control and took place in the Russian NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) facility. SIRIUS simulated a lunar mission and involved docking with a lunar orbital station, orbital operations to identify a site on the lunar surface suitable for landing, and lunar landing of a crew of four—crewmembers moved to a different module for this part of the simulation where they lived for 7 days and simulated lunar surface operations. After the lunar crew’s return to the orbital station there were 40 days of simulated lunar orbit during which crewmembers conducted remote rover operations. Transit to Earth was initiated on mission day MD111 with the crew reaching the Earth’s orbit by MD118. Communication between crew and mission control was delayed by 5 minutes one-way on mission days 11 through 110. The official mission language was Russian. Crewmembers included four Russian and two U.S. participants. Mission controller participants were 24 medical staff members.

Several unexpected (for the crew) events were built into a mission. These events served as our experimental tasks to examine teamwork both within a crew and the crew/mission control (MCC) multiteam system. There were eight tasks in a HERA mission, and 10 tasks in SIRIUS. Half of the tasks were demand events where MCC requested that the crew perform an unscheduled and time consuming task. Stretch events were off-nominal situations that challenged the crew’s expertise and members had to decide on how best to respond; in particular, whether to resolve the issue and its impact on their task schedule autonomously or to seek assistance from mission control.

The same set of surveys were employed in both simulations. For SIRIUS, Russian versions of the surveys were prepared by a professional translator and back-translated into English to verify their accuracy. Participants were given the choice to receive the surveys in English or Russian. Surveys were administered via Qualtrics.

Surveys explored the team concept held by crewmembers and mission controllers, their perception of task and social cohesion among members of the space/ground multiteam system, and their assessment of the multiteam system’s efficacy. Premission surveys included measures of participants’ teamwork model and individual inclinations and attitudes. Task-related surveys concerned crewmembers’ and mission controllers’ evaluation of teamwork and task performance, and their ratings of the crew’s and MCC staff’s task contribution. Task-related surveys were not included in the crew’s mission schedule to ensure that crewmembers had no prior indication of the experimental tasks; instead MCC sent survey links after task completion. Personnel manning MCC during an experimental task was asked to complete task-related surveys at the end of their shift. Analyses at the Level of the Crew/MCC Multiteam System (MTS): Analyses indicate that crewmembers and mission controllers in both HERA and SIRIUS simulations tended to define ‘their team’ narrowly as they predominantly referred to members of their own component teams rather than the space/ground multiteam system. Divergent perspectives were also apparent between SIRIUS crewmembers and mission controllers in their judgment of cohesion in the space/ground MTS and its efficacy. SIRIUS crewmembers perceived less unity with and closeness to mission controllers than vice versa and, more importantly, they also perceived less shared task commitment between members of the multiteam system than mission controllers. Likewise, crewmembers were less confident than mission controllers that their teams were able to communicate and collaborate effectively. In the HERA simulation, crewmembers and mission controllers appeared more aligned with respect to their perception of both MTS cohesion and MTS efficacy. Differences between them concerned their assessment of taskwork. Here we observed a tendency by each component team to think that they contributed more to task success than members of the other team (MCC or crew, respectively). In SIRIUS, in contrast, crewmembers and mission controllers agreed in their assessment of MTS members’ taskwork and tended to give more weight to MCC and the commander than to the other crewmembers.

Because these findings are based on two space simulations involving five teams of crewmembers and mission controllers, it is certainly premature to draw any conclusions about the impact of crew autonomy on the crew/MCC multiteam system. Nonetheless, it is worth pointing out that some of our observations, notably concerning MTS cohesion and efficacy, are consistent with the hypothesis that crew autonomy may disrupt common ground between crewmembers and mission controllers.

Analysis at the Level of the Crew Component Team: Our suite of surveys also included measures that targeted social and cognitive processes at the crew component team level. Specifically we focused on crewmembers’ perception of their teamwork and team dynamics. Additional measures addressing within-crew cohesion, conflict, efficacy and performance will be obtained through a data-sharing agreement with NASA colleagues.

Analyses to-date explored crewmembers’ models of teamwork to generate snapshots of the HERA and SIRIUS crews and to identify directions for further inquiry. These high-level analyses focused on crewmembers’ teamwork models across experimental tasks, team roles, and teamwork components. While these analyses revealed considerable variability among the crews in the different missions, with no clear pattern of differences emerging between crews working under current vs. autonomous mission operation, they point to finer-grained analyses. Specifically, next analytic steps need to consider task characteristics –e.g., what aspects of teamwork were required?—and crewmember involvement in a given task in order to better address similarity in crewmembers’ teamwork models. Future analyses will also need to unpack the differences in the “overall” teamwork models that we observed and focus on teamwork components; that is, they need to address whether crewmembers’ agreement or disagreement was tied to specific teamwork behaviors; a consideration important for team training. Moreover, once additional crew data become available to us through data sharing agreements, we will be able to relate our measures of team mental models and team dynamics to team states and processes, such as cohesion, conflict, and team performance. Planned analyses of crew communication and task performance will provide additional process and outcome measures.

Upcoming Simulations

Our research project was selected for inclusion in two upcoming space simulation missions, HERA C6 and SIRIUS 20/21. The Principal Investigators (PIs) have participated in planning sessions for both missions and have submitted the Science Requirement Documents to NASA JSC Human Research Program (HRP). Both simulations are currently scheduled to start in November 2020.

SIRIUS 20/21 will be an 8-month space simulation with high crew autonomy and will replicate our study design of SIRIUS 19 mission. The HERA C6 campaign will include for missions, each with a duration of 45 days. Missions will follow the general study design we implemented in the preceding campaign; however, this time, missions will incorporate our crew autonomy manipulation of increasing autonomy. Crew autonomy will be gradually introduced with the onset of communication delay and after an initial period of no-autonomy (modeled after current mission operations as in previous HERA missions). The first phase of autonomy will involve limited crew autonomy – the crew will be able to self-schedule and -manage a certain number of tasks; however, the implementation of their plans will require pre-approval by MCC and the crew will be required to provide performance updates to MCC. High crew autonomy will be introduced once crew/MCC communication is delayed by 5 minutes. The crew will have the same responsibilities under limited autonomy but with fewer restrictions. They will not need to have their planned timeline pre-approved by MCC, nor will performance updates be prescribed. While the crew will be expected to transmit an evening daily planning conference (DPC), its content and level of detail will be at the crew’s discretion. Mission control will be in a supportive role and crew/MCC communication will be initiated by the crew.

Both simulations will double the N for the high-autonomy condition, provide longitudinal data over a longer time frame (SIRIUS 20), and enable additional data analyses and modeling. The combined data sets will provide for empirically-based predictions of impact of autonomy on MTS team perceptions and team performance as well as changes in these variables over the course of a mission.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Books/Book Chapters Fischer U, Mosier K. "Teamwork in spaceflight operations." in "The Oxford Handbook of Expertise." Ed. P. Ward, J.M. Schraagen, J. Gore, E.M. Roth. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019. p. 830-849. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198795872.013.36 , Nov-2019
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2019 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 06/28/2020  
Task Last Updated: 04/29/2019 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Tofighi, Davood  Ph.D. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Williams, Thomas  
Center Contact: 281-483-8773 
thomas.j.will1@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 6/28/2020 per L. Juliette/HRP (Ed., 2/19/2020)

NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2019 
Task Progress: Analysis of LSDA data. Data transfer from LSDA was initiated in spring 2018 and continued throughout the year, and it is ongoing as more data become available.

Statistical modeling was conducted on data from Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) campaigns 1 and 2 that addressed individual- (affect; stress; workload) and team-level (team cohesion; team orientation; task performance) variables. Missions in HERA campaign 1 lasted for 7 days; missions in campaign 2 were 14 days long. Missions in both campaigns involved days with communication delay. In HERA C1, the communication between the crew and ground control was delayed by 10 minutes (one-way) on mission days 5 and 6. In HERA C2, crew/ground communication was delayed by 5 minutes on mission days 5 and 6, and by 10 minutes on mission days 7 and 8. Each campaign consisted of four missions. There were four crew members in each mission, yielding a total of 32 participants.

The HERA campaigns followed current mission operations and did not vary the level of crew autonomy during a mission; that is, ground was in charge of the crew’s daily schedule, task objectives, and assignments. However, on days with transmission delay, the communication between ground control and the crew was limited and thus provided the crew, at least subjectively, with a sense of autonomy. In the present analyses, we therefore used communication delay as a proxy for crew autonomy, and examined its impact on crew members’ affective and cognitive states as well as its influence on team-level variables. Missions were divided into three segments – pre, during, and post communication delay. We hypothesized that the presence of communication delay would affect crew members’ perceptions of stress and workload which, in turn, would influence their affective responses. Specifically, we hypothesized that the presence of communication delay would lead to reduced stress, and more positive and less negative affect, analogous to research findings on the impact of team autonomy on members’ stress and affect. Changes in perceived stress were also hypothesized to be associated with changes in members’ team orientation and team cohesion; in particular, we predicted that crew members’ cohesion and team orientation would increase with communication delay and be associated with improved task performance. Unlike their perception of stress, crew members’ perception of workload was hypothesized to increase with the presence of communication delay, i.e., when communications with and thus input from mission control was limited.

Several multi-level analyses were conducted that included communication delay as independent variable and explored the mediating effect of perceived stress on positive affect, negative affect, members’ perception of team cohesion, and members’ level of team orientation. A second set of analyses included the same independent and dependent variables and addressed the mediating effect of perceived workload. The final set of analyses examined the direct and indirect effect (as mediated by team cohesion or team orientation) of communication delay on task performance.

The present modeling effort did not find that individual and team variables were significantly impacted by the presence of communication delay, with crew members’ perceptions of their workload being the only exception. The positive changes we observed –with respect to team cohesion, experienced stress and affect as well as task performance—all occurred over time. This finding suggests that the experience of delayed and thus limited communication with ground support did at least not adversely affect crew members. This finding may also suggest that the experience of communication delay gave crew members a gradual boost in morale and teamwork that carried over to subsequent mission days. Additional analyses are planned to examine this conjecture. Moreover, data collected in Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) and HERA campaigns 5 and 6 will help us to examine the impact of crew autonomy directly and independent of communication delay.

Analysis of Crew-Ground Communications. Currently available data sets include few measures on the level of the space crew/mission control multi-team system. The research team is therefore conducting a supplementary analysis of existing recordings and transcripts of crew-mission control communications to examine whether the frequency, nature, and tone of the interactions change over time and in response to communication delay and crew autonomy. The initial data set consists of the voice recordings of the communications that occurred between crew members and HABCOMs on 12 days during the four missions in HERA campaign 3. The selected days counterbalance crew tasks with mission segments and communication delay. Audio files are being uploaded into Audacity, a free audio-editing software. Audacity allows users to mark segments in the audio stream and to assign codes to these segments in a separate track. Tracks can subsequently be exported to a text file for analysis, providing time stamps in addition to codes. Coding of HERA crew-HABCOM communication is ongoing.

Long-duration exploration mission simulations – HERA C5 and SIRIUS. The research team is currently participating in two space exploration simulations (HERA C5 and SIRIUS). Campaign 1 of HERA C5 started in mid-February 2019. Mission 1 ended on April 1, 2019. The SIRIUS mission is taking place in the NEK facility (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks, a closed habitat) in Moscow, Russia, and was launched on March 20, 2019 with an end date of July 22, 2019.

HERA C5 missions have a duration of 45 days. Missions involve communication delays (increasing from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, one-way). As they do not include any crew autonomy manipulation, C5 missions will serve as baseline conditions to SIRIUS and HERA C6. During the SIRIUS mission crew members work under 5 min communication delays and have high autonomy. Crew autonomy in HERA-C6 missions is planned to increase with communication delay as a function of distance to Earth and then to remain high during the return to Earth. Our research team has been selected to participate in HERA C6 and we are set to participate in the first planning meeting on May 16, 2019.

During HERA C5M1 we collected data from all four crew members and seven mission control personnel (HABCOMs). HERA crew members and HABCOMs completed pre-mission surveys and completed our Asynchronous Communication Training module. During the mission crew members were presented with eight mission-integral tasks that served as our experimental tasks. Four of these tasks were demand tasks—unscheduled tasks or modifications to a scheduled task requested by mission control. The four stretch tasks pertain to events that occur or happen to the crew and necessitate problem solving in the course of which the crew may or may not consult with mission control. After each experimental task, crew and HABCOMs were asked to rate their performance, teamwork, and workload. Surveys administered throughout the mission assessed team efficacy and the team concept held by crew members and HABCOMs. Crew members were also asked to complete a team dynamics survey. HABCOM-specific surveys targeted their perceptions of stress, mental workload, and mood during experimental tasks and on days with communication delay. We also will receive video/audio recordings of crew members’ communications while responding to Demand and Stretch tasks to support analysis of their task performance. Likewise, we plan to analyze crew-ground communications during these tasks.

The SIRIUS simulation is still ongoing. It involves the same measures as used in HERA C5; however, experimental tasks have been adapted to mission characteristics and objectives. Russian translations of the surveys are available to crew and mission control personnel to provide non-US participants with the option of responding in their native language. Survey completion rates by crew members and flight controllers are being monitored and have been excellent. The Principal Investigator-team also participates in bi-weekly conference calls with the NASA Johnson Space Center SIRIUS 18/19 team and other investigators.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Fischer U, Mosier K, Tofighi D, Russell M. "Understanding key components of successful autonomous space missions." Presented at the 2019 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, Galveston, TX, January 22-25, 2019.

2019 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, Galveston, TX, January 22-25, 2019. , Jan-2019

Books/Book Chapters Fischer U, Mosier K. "Teamwork in Spaceflight Operations." in "The Oxford Handbook of Expertise: Research and Application." Ed. P. Ward, J. M. Schraagen, J. Gore, E. Roth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019 in press. Online Publication Date for article: Feb 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198795872.013.36 (4/30/19: book is still in publication as of April 2019; individual chapters released online ahead of print.), Feb-2019
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2018 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 06/28/2019  
Task Last Updated: 04/25/2018 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Tofighi, Davood  Ph.D. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Williams, Thomas  
Center Contact: 281-483-8773 
thomas.j.will1@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2018 
Task Progress: We completed the definition phase for this research at the end of August 2017. Since then work on Phase 1 research (i.e., use of data stored in the Life Science Data Archive, LSDA, in statistical modeling) and on Phase 2 research (studies in analog environments) has commenced.

In late October 2017 we obtained approval of the Life Science Advisory Board to proceed with our data request to the LSDA. Next we initiated the re-consent procedures of individuals who had participated in the original (i.e., archived) studies to give their consent that their data be re-used in our study. Data transfer from the LSDA is ongoing. Because currently available data sets include few measures on the level of the space crew/mission control multi-team system, we are conducting supplementary analyses of existing recordings (or transcripts) of crew-mission control communications. This analysis examines the communication frequency and flow, as well as content, and interpersonal aspect of the space-ground communications. Presently we are analyzing space-ground communications in Skylab 4 focusing on the days just prior to and shortly after the crew’s “mutiny” as well as towards the end of the mission to identify changes in communication frequency and patterns as a result of increased crew autonomy.

Work on Phase 2 research has also begun. We will be part of two space exploration simulations Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) (HERA-C5 and SIRIUS) scheduled to start in February 2019 and March 2019, respectively. HERA-C5 missions will have a duration of 45 days. Missions in this campaign will involve communication delays (increasing from 30 seconds to 5 minute, one-way); however, they will not include any crew autonomy manipulation and thus will serve as a base-rate to SIRIUS and future HERA campaigns. The SIRIUS mission will take place in the NEK (Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks) facility in Moscow, Russia, and will involve a collaboration between the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), NASA, and other international partners (DLR--German Aerospace Center; JAXA--Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The 4-month mission will involve communication delay and crew autonomy and thus will provide us with the opportunity to examine the longitudinal impact of crew autonomy on crewmembers and mission controllers and their collaboration.

We participated in design meetings for HERA-C5 (in December 2017) and SIRIUS (March 2018) and have submitted our science requirements. Both campaigns will include the same measurements with the exception of communication measures. We may not be able to analyze the communications between SIRIUS crewmembers or their interactions with flight controllers since they will be conducted in Russian and we may not be able to obtain English translations. To compensate for the absence of these measures, we included self-report measures in which crewmembers and flight controllers assess and provide information on their interactions. Both campaigns will present crewmembers with two types of tasks (Demand Events and Stretch Events) repeatedly throughout a mission. Possible tasks have been developed and will be refined in discussions with the Human Research Program (HRP) Lead and International Implementation Specialists for SIRIUS.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Fischer, U, Mosier K, Tofighi D. "A research approach to understanding key components of successful autonomous space missions." Presented at 2018 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, Galveston, TX, January 22-25, 2018.

2018 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, Galveston, TX, January 22-25, 2018. , Jan-2018

Books/Book Chapters Fischer U, Mosier K. "Teamwork in Spaceflight Operations." in "The Oxford Handbook of Expertise: Research and Application." Ed. P. Ward, J. M. Schraagen, J. Gore, E. Roth. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, in press as of April 2018., Apr-2018
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2017 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 06/28/2019  
Task Last Updated: 04/28/2017 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Tofighi, Davood  Ph.D. Georgia Tech Research Corporation 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Williams, Thomas  
Center Contact: 281-483-8773 
thomas.j.will1@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:
No. of PhD Candidates:
No. of Master's Candidates:
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:
No. of PhD Degrees:
No. of Master's Degrees:
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Multiteam collaboration is not a unique feature of spaceflight operations but common to many organizations, as is the question of how best to implement task autonomy within a multiteam system. We therefore expect that our research findings not only generalize to other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, such as Antarctica, but also apply to any organization that require the collaboration by different work units.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2017 
Task Progress: We are currently completing the definition phase for this research. In August, 2016, we met with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) scientists to discuss the parameters of the definition phase for our project. We were asked to demonstrate the availability of sufficient data from the Life Sciences Data Archive to support our modeling effort planned for Phase 1; to specify required characteristics of Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) missions, in particular concerning the duration and number of missions, experimental manipulations and measurements; to describe how our deliverables will complement and inform existing NASA performance models and training approaches. Subsequently we had several meetings with LSDA managers to identify data sets suitable for our statistical modeling efforts. We have submitted the required material and data request forms to the LSDA and the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH) Board for approval. The definition phase also involved discussions with representatives of the NASA Flight Analogs Group to specify how our research needs can be met by space analog missions conducted in the HERA facility. As a result of these discussions we submitted an addendum to our proposal addressing the issues raised during our meetings with NASA officials. We expect to transition out of the definition phase by mid- to end of May.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2017
Project Title:  Understanding Key Components of Successful Autonomous Space Missions Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2016 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Start Date: 06/29/2016  
End Date: 06/28/2019  
Task Last Updated: 12/08/2016 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Fischer, Ute  Ph.D. / Georgia Institute of Technology 
Address:  School of Literature, Communication and Culture 
686 Cherry Street 
Atlanta , GA 30332-0165 
Email: ute.fischer@gatech.edu 
Phone: 404-894-7627  
Congressional District:
Web:  
Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Mosier, Kathleen  Ph.D. Teamscape LLC 
Tofighi, Davood  Ph.D. Georgia Tech Research Corporation 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. NNX16AM16G 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor:  
Center Contact:   
Unique ID: 11082 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2015-16 HERO NNJ15ZSA001N-Crew Health (FLAGSHIP, NSBRI, OMNIBUS). Appendix A-Crew Health, Appendix B-NSBRI, Appendix C-Omnibus 
Grant/Contract No.: NNX16AM16G 
Project Type: GROUND 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HFBP:Human Factors & Behavioral Performance (IRP Rev H)
Human Research Program Risks: (1) BMed:Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders
(2) Team:Risk of Performance and Behavioral Health Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) BMed-103:What are the validated, efficacious treatments (individual or Team-based) and/or countermeasures to prevent adverse behavioral conditions, CNS/neurological, and/or psychiatric disorders caused by either single and/or integrated exposures to spaceflight hazards during exploration class missions?
(2) Team-105:We need to identify a set of countermeasures to support team function and enable multiple distributed teams to manage shifting levels of autonomy for all phases of increasingly earth independent, long duration exploration missions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: Element change to Human Factors & Behavioral Performance; previously Behavioral Health & Performance (Ed., 1/18/17)

Task Description: Exploration space missions will require that space crews manage tasks more autonomously than in current operations, although they will continue to be part of the multi-team system (MTS) comprised of members in space and on the ground. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop countermeasures that will enhance the ability of MTS members to maintain effective team performance and manage autonomous operations during Long Duration Exploration Missions (LDEMs). We will use NASA Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) data collected in space analogs and the International Space Station (ISS) to develop models of the individual- and team-level relationships between crew autonomy, emergent states, and team performance. Additionally, several simulations will be conducted in space analogs to assess the impact of different autonomy implementations on MTS performance in long-duration missions. Data from this study will be used to test and refine the individual- and team-level models, and to create a MTS-level model of the autonomy-performance relationship. Our approach is comprehensive in that we will examine different implementations and levels of autonomy, experience with interdependent and autonomous operations, individual and team process variables as well as varying task constraints. A set of products to support space and mission control teams during long-duration exploration missions will be delivered. These include: a validated model of factors related to team autonomy and team performance in LDEMs; recommendations for how team autonomy should be managed within a MTS during LDEMs, including countermeasures to mitigate potential negative effects; and recommendations for future research on autonomous team functioning.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits:

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2016 
Task Progress: New project for FY2016.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 03/22/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2016