Engineers at MIT and other US institutions have developed an interactive platform that shows how the design of space habitats could influence astronauts\u2019 mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. <\/p>\n
The NASA<\/a>-supported resource is intended to help designers create healthier living environments for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n The Human-Environment Connection and Interaction Atlas (HECIA) connects habitat features such as lighting, privacy, layout, and reconfigurability with outcomes including stress, fatigue, anxiety, homesickness, and crew cohesion. <\/p>\n Its findings could also guide the design of submarines, polar bases, oil rigs, refugee camps, and other isolated environments.<\/p>\n Mapping 14 behavioral outcomes<\/p>\n The researchers built the atlas after reviewing scientific literature and interviewing experts from NASA, academia, and industry. <\/p>\n Their work identified 14 emotions or experiences that could be affected by the design of an extreme habitat, including anxiety, autonomy, nostalgia, curiosity, fatigue, and kinship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe awareness has been there for some time that living in space is difficult,\u201d said Mich Lin, an MIT PhD candidate and the study\u2019s lead author. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way from the human in a tin can. As our priorities shift toward long-duration exploration missions, making sure a crew is safe, healthy, happy, and productive becomes even more important,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n Previous studies have examined individual relationships, such as the effects of lighting on sleep and circadian rhythms or the influence of layout on privacy and social interaction. <\/p>\n According to the team, however, these connections had not previously been assembled into a single visual system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe connection between habitat and behavioral health has not been made in this format before,\u201d Lin emphasized. \u201cSo we made those connections for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n NASA-inspired risk mapping<\/p>\n HECIA uses a format inspired by NASA\u2019s<\/a> directed acyclic graphs, or DAGs. The agency uses these web-like diagrams to connect mission constraints, such as distance from Earth, with risks to sleep, cardiovascular health, and cognitive performance.<\/p>\n The new atlas applies the same approach to behavioral health. Designers can select a mission constraint or habitat feature and follow its potential effects on resources, relationships, and emotions.<\/p>\n For example, selecting \u201cdistance from Earth\u201d reveals possible limits involving food, medical care, and contact with family and friends. These limitations can contribute to nostalgia and homesickness during a long mission.<\/p>\n \u201cBy mapping risks, we can identify points of intervention to characterize and mitigate them,\u201d Lin explained. <\/p>\n \u201cNASA uses DAGs as a countermeasure to the risky business that is human spaceflight,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n Designing habitats where crews can thrive<\/p>\n