Events

(Talk) OTTRS Speaker Series: Promoting Astronaut Autonomy in Human Spaceflight Missions

Event Start Date: Friday, February 24, 2023 - 12:00 pm

Event End Date: Friday, February 24, 2023 - 1:00 pm

Location: Virtual EST


Mission operations will have to adapt for long duration, long distance human spaceflight missions. This change is driven mainly by the significantly different communication availability between Earth and space. As astronauts travel farther from Earth, the one-way communication latency increases; the amount of bandwidth will be limited; and there will be period of long and/or no communication. Currently, ground flight controllers collaborate and cooperate with astronauts in space to accomplish essential operational functions. Astronaut autonomy, i.e., the crew’s ability to work more independently from mission control, will be a key enabler in future exploration missions. Over the last several years, the NASA Ames Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group has investigated various ways to promote and support astronaut autonomy in human spaceflight missions. Software prototypes are researched, designed, implemented, and assessed for their ability to enable astronaut autonomy. From integrated Internet of Thing for Space, advanced procedures interfaces, comm-delayed chats, and self-scheduling tools, the HCI Group has explored different aspects of astronaut autonomy. Specifically, the self-scheduling tool Playbook has been evaluated in analog extreme environments and onboard the International Space Station, successfully paving the way for future autonomous astronauts.

Bio: Jessica Marquez, Human Systems Engineer at the NASA Ames Research Center

Since 2007, Dr. Jessica Marquez has been working at the NASA Ames Research Center within the Human Systems Integration Division. As part of the Human-Computer Interaction Group, she has supported the development and deployment of planning and scheduling software tools for various space missions, including the International Space Station Program. She now leads the team that is developing Playbook, a web-based planning, scheduling, and execution software tool. Her work has led to supporting different NASA analog missions that simulate planetary missions and spacewalks. She also is a subject matter expert for space human factors engineering, specifically in human-automation-robotic integration. Dr. Marquez has a Ph.D. in Human Systems Engineering and S.M. in Aeronautics/Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University.

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