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In preparation for testing five Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) commercial cislunar habitat designs, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) embarked on a yearlong in-house training program. This consisted of in-house testing for subject matter experts (SMEs) and crew to informed and ensure evaluation data collection techniques for each of the contractor options. Many evaluation techniques were tested with some continuing forward. Two-test conditions were employed - 1) habitat centric functions with one space element and 2) distributed functions across two or more space elements. This paper will look at one of these techniques—human circulation patterns—to assess a spacecraft habitat’s internal configuration while the crew is working a three day simulated cislunar mission. Real time tracking of the crew was accomplished using the AllTraq© system of ultra- wideband frequency (UWB) receivers and radio frequency identification tags (RFID). Heat maps, Zone Time Histograms, Zone Time Utilizations Tables and Task/Time Density Tables were constructed from the collected data. Results indicated distributing functions across elements decreased crew interference and task wait times. Additionally, areas of underutilization were located, which lead to interior layout design changes.

Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) is a science-driven exploration program seeking to determine the best tools, techniques, training requirements, and execution strategies for conducting Mars-relevant field science under spaceflight mission conditions. BASALT encompasses Science, Science Operations, and Technology objectives. This article outlines the BASALT Science Operations background, strategic research questions, study design, and a portion of the results from the second field test. BASALT field tests are used to iteratively develop, integrate, test, evaluate, and refine new concepts of operations (ConOps) and capabilities that enable efficient and productive science. This article highlights the ConOps investigated during BASALT in light of future planetary extravehicular activity (EVA), which will focus on scientific exploration and discovery, and serves as an introduction to integrating exploration flexibility with operational rigor, the value of tactical and strategic science planning and execution, and capabilities that enable and enhance future science EVA operations.

Science-driven, human spaceflight missions of the future will rely on regular and interactive communication between Earth- and space-based teams during activity in which astronauts work directly on Mars or other planetary surfaces (extravehicular activity, EVA). The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) project conducted simulated human missions to Mars, complete with realistic one-way light time (OWLT) communication latency. We discuss the modes of communication used by the Mars- and Earth-based teams, including text, audio, video, and still imagery. Real-time communication between astronauts in the field (extravehicular, EV) and astronauts in a communication relay station (intravehicular, IV) was broadcast over OWLT, providing important contextual information to the Science Backroom Team (SBT) in Mission Control. Collaborative communication between the Earth- and Mars-based teams, however, requires active communication across latency via the Mission Log. We provide descriptive statistics of text communication between IV and SBT in a high-fidelity, scientifically driven analog for human space exploration. Over an EVA, the SBT sent an average of ∼23 text messages containing recommendations, requests, and answers to questions, while the science-focused IV crew member (IV2) sent an average of ∼38 text messages. Though patterns varied, communication between the IV and SBT teams tended to be highest during ∼50–150 min into the EVA, corresponding to the candidate sample search and presampling instrument survey phases, and then decreased dramatically after minute ∼200 during the sample collection phase. Generally, the IV2 and SBT used ∼4.6 min to craft a reply to a direct question or comment, regardless of message length or OWLT, offering a valuable glimpse into actual time-to-reply. We discuss IV2-SBT communication within the context of case examples from an EVA during which communication failures affected operations in the field. Finally, we offer recommendations for communication practices for use in future analogs and, perhaps, science-driven human spaceflight.

The articles associated with this Special Collection focus on the NASA BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) Research Program, which aims at answering the question, “How do we support and enable scientific exploration during human Mars missions?” To answer this the BASALT team conducted scientific field studies under simulated Mars mission conditions to both broaden our understanding of the habitability potential of basalt-rich terrains on Mars and examine the effects of science on current Mars mission concepts of operations. This article provides an overview of the BASALT research project, from the science, to the operational concepts that were tested and developed, to the technical capabilities that supported all elements of the team's research. Further, this article introduces the 12 articles that are included in this Special Collection.

A major objective in the exploration of Mars is to test the hypothesis that the planet hosted life. Even in the absence of life, the mapping of habitable and uninhabitable environments is an essential task in developing a complete understanding of the geological and aqueous history of Mars and, as a consequence, understanding what factors caused Earth to take a different trajectory of biological potential. We carried out the aseptic collection of samples and comparison of the bacterial and archaeal communities associated with basaltic fumaroles and rocks of varying weathering states in Hawai'i to test four hypotheses concerning the diversity of life in these environments. Using high-throughput sequencing, we found that all these materials are inhabited by a low-diversity biota. Multivariate analyses of bacterial community data showed a clear separation between sites that have active fumaroles and other sites that comprised relict fumaroles, unaltered, and syn-emplacement basalts. Contrary to our hypothesis that high water flow environments, such as fumaroles with active mineral leaching, would be sites of high biological diversity, alpha diversity was lower in active fumaroles compared to relict or nonfumarolic sites, potentially due to high-temperature constraints on microbial diversity in fumarolic sites. A comparison of these data with communities inhabiting unaltered and weathered basaltic rocks in Idaho suggests that bacterial taxon composition of basaltic materials varies between sites, although the archaeal communities were similar in Hawai'i and Idaho. The taxa present in both sites suggest that most of them obtain organic carbon compounds from the atmosphere and from phototrophs and that some of them, including archaeal taxa, cycle fixed nitrogen. The low diversity shows that, on Earth, extreme basaltic terrains are environments on the edge of sustaining life with implications for the biological potential of similar environments on Mars and their exploration by robots and humans.

Background Small, innate asymmetries between the left and right otolith organs can cause ocular misalignment with symptoms that include double vision and motion sickness. Additionally, ocular misalignment affects nearly 5% of the US population. We have developed a portable, non-invasive technology that uses subjective perception of binocular visual signals to estimate relative binocular alignment. New method and results The Vertical Alignment Nulling (VAN) and Torsional Alignment Nulling (TAN) tests ask subjects to view one red and one blue line on a tablet computer while looking through color-matched red and blue filters so that each eye sees only one of the lines. Subjects align the red and blue lines, which are initially vertically offset from one another during VAN or rotated relative to one another during TAN, until they perceive a single continuous line. Ocular misalignments are inferred from actual offsets in the final line positions. During testing, all binocular visual cues are eliminated by employing active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) technology and testing in darkness. VAN and TAN can accurately account for visual offsets induced by prisms, and test-retest reliability is excellent, with resolution better than many current standard clinical tests. Comparison with existing method(s) VAN and TAN tests are similar to the clinical Lancaster red-green test. However, VAN and TAN employ inexpensive, hand-held hardware that can be self-administered with results that are quickly quantifiable. Conclusions VAN and TAN provide simple, sensitive, and quantitative measures of binocular positioning alignment that may be useful for detecting subtle abnormalities in ocular positioning.

The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) research project is investigating tools, techniques, and strategies for conducting Mars scientific exploration extravehicular activity (EVA). This has been accomplished through three science-driven terrestrial field tests (BASALT-1, BASALT-2, and BASALT-3) during which the iterative development, testing, assessment, and refinement of concepts of operations (ConOps) and capabilities were conducted. ConOps are the instantiation of operational design elements that guide the organization and flow of personnel, communication, hardware, software, and data products to enable a mission concept. Capabilities include the hardware, software, data products, and protocols that comprise and enable the ConOps. This paper describes the simulation quality and acceptability of the Mars-forward ConOps evaluated during BASALT-2. It also presents the level of mission enhancement and acceptability of the associated Mars-forward capabilities. Together, these results inform science operations for human planetary exploration.

The NASA-funded Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) program is investigating candidate Mars extravehicular activity (EVA) concepts of operations and capabilities through science-driven terrestrial fieldwork under Mars-mission operational constraints. The third BASALT field test consisted of ten simulated EVAs in the Kilauea Caldera and Kilauea Iki regions of Hawai’i in November 2017. Each EVA included two extravehicular (EV) crewmembers completing real (non-simulated) geobiochemical science objectives (e.g., collecting detailed imagery and scientific instrument data and extracting samples of basalt for further laboratory investigations), two intravehicular crewmembers who supported the EV crew in real-time, and a Mission Support Center comprised of remote scientists and operators who provided scientific expertise during the EVAs across Mars-relevant communication latencies. Throughout this field test, a series of new capabilities, including high-resolution panoramic imagery, mobile automated light detection and ranging data, immersive mixed-reality terrain models, and augmented-reality field systems for terrain navigation and annotation, were incorporated and evaluated during the mission simulation for their ability to enable and enhance science. The value provided by these capabilities was assessed using a variety of objective and subjective technology impact metrics, including detailed EVA task timing data, space-to-ground interaction data, and heritage subjective assessments of capability assessment (a measure of the potential for mission enhancement), simulation quality (a measure of simulation fidelity), and acceptability (including the specification of desired, warranted, and required improvements). In general, these capabilities were rated at least moderately enhancing for future planetary EVA, meaning that they are likely to moderately enhance one of more aspects of EVA or significantly enhance EVA on rare occasions. A number of specific improvements to these capabilities were identified, which warrant further development and testing, and several complementary future studies are proposed. Together, these data provide critical knowledge to help meet design challenges associated with future science-driven planetary EVA. While this paper specifically focuses on applications for future human spaceflight exploration, many of the results and lessons learned are also applicable to present-day terrestrial scientific fieldwork.

The NASA Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program is a public-private partnership model that seeks commercial development of deep space exploration capabilities to support human spaceflight missions around and beyond cislunar space. NASA research engineers and subject matter experts have been tasked with developing the ground test protocol that will serve as the primary means by which these Phase 2 prototypes will be systematically evaluated. The purpose of a common ground test protocol for the Phase 2 Habitation Concepts is to consistently evaluate different commercial partner ground prototypes to provide data-driven, actionable recommendations for Phase 3. This paper describes the process by which the ground test protocol was developed and the objectives, methods, and metrics by which the NextSTEP Phase 2 Habitation Concepts will be assessed. Ground test evaluations will include human-in-the-loop (HITL) habitation tests, subsystem standalone tests, analyses, and inspections. HITL testing will involve crews of four astronauts conducting multiday mission timelines that integrate all habitation operations (e.g., eating, sleeping, waste collection system operations, exercise), representative science and robotics tasks (e.g., low-latency teleoperations rover operations, sample return, life science, medical evaluations), and extravehicular activity (EVA), (e.g., airlock configuration, pre/post operations). Established subjective and objective metrics will be collected and analyzed to provide the data and actionable recommendations for Phase 3 of the NextSTEP program. This paper begins with a summary of NASA's deep space habitation plans, the goals of the NASA NextSTEP activity, and the process by which the ground test objectives were derived. It then details the strategic questions and hypotheses, and describes the inspections, analyses, subsystem standalone tests, and HITL integrated tests that will be used to address the functional requirements and ground test objectives. Data collected from these assessments will be analyzed to determine the acceptability of habitation element configurations and the combinations of capabilities that will result in the best habitation platform to be recommended by the test team for Phase 3.

Long duration space flight is known to induce severe modifications in the sensorimotor and musculoskeletal systems. While in-flight strategies including physical fitness have been used to prevent the loss of bone and muscle mass using appropriate rehabilitative countermeasures, less attention has been put forth in the design of technologies that can quickly and effectively assess sensorimotor function during missions in space. The aims of the present study were therefore (1) to develop a Portable Sensorimotor Assessment Platform (PSAP) to enable a crewmember to independently and quickly assess his/her sensorimotor function during the NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) and (2) to investigate changes in performance of static posture, tandem gait, and lower limb ataxia due to exposure in an extreme environment. Our data reveal that measuring the degree of upper body balance and gait regularity during tandem walking using PSAP provided a sensitive and objective quantification of body movement abnormalities due to changes in sensorimotor performance over the duration of mission exposure., Diagnostics: New test for sensory and motor problems An assessment tool that combines body sensors and a walking task can detect functional abnormalities following prolonged exposure to an extreme environment. Michael Schubert from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, USA, and colleagues integrated five wireless inertial sensors with a computer tablet to develop what they call the Portable Sensorimotor Assessment Platform (PSAP). They tested the platform on crewmembers living in an undersea laboratory, assigning various physical tasks to investigate posture, gait, and limb function. They found that using PSAP while participants walked in a straight line with one foot immediately in front of the other—heel to toe—offered an accurate and unbiased picture of upper body balance and gait regularity. Similar methods could help measure sensorimotor function and avoid injury among astronauts on extended missions to Mars or elsewhere.

Individual differences in sensorimotor adaptability may permit customized training protocols for optimum learning. Here, we sought to forecast individual adaptive capabilities in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Subjects performed 400 head-rotation steps (400 trials) during a baseline test, followed by 20 min of VOR gain adaptation. All subjects exhibited mean baseline VOR gain of approximately 1.0, variable from trial to trial, and showed desired reductions in gain following adaptation with variation in extent across individuals. The extent to which a given subject adapted was inversely proportional to a measure of the strength and duration of baseline inter-trial correlations (β). β is derived from the decay of the autocorrelation of the sequence of VOR gains, and describes how strongly correlated are past gain values; it thus indicates how much the VOR gain on any given trial is informed by performance on previous trials. To maximize the time that images are stabilized on the retina, the VOR should maintain a gain close to 1.0 that is adjusted predominantly according to the most recent error; hence, it is not surprising that individuals who exhibit smaller β (weaker inter-trial correlations) also exhibited the best adaptation. Our finding suggests that the temporal structure of baseline behavioral data contains important information that may aid in forecasting adaptive capacities. This has significant implications for the development of personalized physical therapy protocols for patients, and for other cases when it is necessary to adjust motor programs to maintain movement accuracy in response to pathological and environmental changes.

The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) project is a multi-year program dedicated to iteratively develop, implement, and evaluate concepts of operations (ConOps) and supporting capabilities intended to enable and enhance human scientific exploration of Mars. This paper describes the planning, execution, and initial results from the first field deployment, referred to as BASALT-1, which consisted of a series of ten simulated extravehicular activities on volcanic flows in Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. The ConOps and capabilities deployed and tested during BASALT-1 were based on previous NASA trade studies and analog testing. Our primary research question was whether those ConOps and capabilities work acceptably when performing real (non-simulated) biological and geological scientific exploration under four different Mars-to-Earth communication conditions: 5 and 15 min one-way light time communication latencies and low (0.512 Mb/s uplink, 1.54 Mb/s downlink) and high (5.0 Mb/s uplink, 10.0 Mb/s downlink) bandwidth conditions, which represent two alternative technical communication capabilities currently proposed for future human exploration missions. The synthesized results, based on objective and subjective measures, from BASALT-1 established preliminary findings that the baseline ConOp, software systems, and communication protocols were scientifically and operationally acceptable with minor improvements desired by the “Mars” extravehicular and intravehicular crewmembers. However, unacceptable components of the ConOps and required improvements were identified by the “Earth” Mission Support Center. These data provide a basis for guiding and prioritizing capability development for future BASALT deployments and, ultimately, future human exploration missions.

The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) is the largest indivisible payload and has the largest “gear ratio” in NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) architecture. For this reason, the mass and related volume of the MAV cabin drives requirements for Mars Surface In-Situ Resource Utilization generators to manufacture propellants, which: drives the surface power needs, sets the Lander payload size, drives the in-space transportation architecture, and drives the number of launches and time required to land humans on Mars' surface. Some of the architectures currently under consideration in the EMC use a chemical/solar electric propulsion hybrid that inserts into a 5 sol orbit and may require that the crew spend several days in the MAV before a rendezvous with the Mars transit vehicle. There have been no human-in-the-loop (HITL) evaluations to generate the data necessary to inform decisions on the required size of the MAV. These data are critical to begin to close the various EMC architectures. The common cabin concept consists of a core cabin with ECLSS, power, thermal and GNC systems that can be coupled to various mobility systems resulting in use of the core cabin design within a lander cabin, MAV — an in-space taxi between locations in the Mars system, as a Mars moons exploration vehicle, and a Mars surface rover. The common cabin approach could be facilitated through a standard interface design that allows for attachment of the different mobility systems. The interior of the cabin would also be outfitted differently based on the mission of the particular vehicle. The focus of the project summarized here is to determine the size of the smallest viable MAV from a sizing and habitability perspective. Multiple options were considered, two of which were studied in greater depth; one that provides maximum commonality with other cabins needed across the EMC and the other being a unique minimalist cabin. To enable the sizing and habitability assessments, the project completed analysis tasks including generation of functional requirements, development of mission timelines for all phases of MAV operations (from launch to berthing with a transit habitat), definition of required subsystems, computer aided design modeling of potential cabin layouts, and development of preliminary mass equipment lists. A maximum commonality cabin was evaluated with a 4-person crew executing all phases of the mission timeline. Additionally a minimalist cabin design was subjectively evaluated using computer generated models of vehicle layout and design. The results of the test findings and analysis are described in this paper. The results suggested that the volume and mass of the common cabin and the minimalist cabins were nearly identical. The benefits of the common cabin also include the potential use as a habitable airlock/node as part of a Cislunar habitat system, buying down risk and gaining flight experience with this Mars-forward habitation element.

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) is an underwater spaceflight analog that provides a true mission-like operational environment for aquanauts living in the Aquarius undersea habitat for up to several weeks at a time. During these analog missions, aquanauts go out on multi-hour extravehicular activities (EVAs) and use buoyancy effects and added weight to simulate different gravity levels. The NEEMO 21 mission was undertaken in July of 2016. During this mission, the effects of several operations concepts (ConOps, defined as operational design elements that guide the organization and flow of hardware, personnel, communications, and data products through the course of a mission implementation) and a communication latency of 15 min oneway light time (OWLT) were studied in six aquanaut test subjects. These “Mars” aquanaut crewmembers conducted scientific exploration of the reef surrounding the Aquarius habitat while interacting with an “Earth-based” science team (ST) that was located topside. The ST provided guidance to the aquanauts throughout the EVAs across the 15 min communication latency. Exploration EVA traverses and timelines were planned in advance based on precursor data. During these 4-hr EVAs, the aquanauts completed science-related tasks, including pre-sampling surveys and marine-science-based sampling. Objective data included task completion times, total EVA time, crew idle time, translation time, ST-assimilation time (defined as time available for the ST to discuss, review, and act upon incoming data from the aquanauts). Subjective data included acceptability, simulation quality, and capability assessment ratings and associated comments. Additionally, feedback from both the crew and the ST were captured during the post-mission debrief. Each ConOps tested was found to provide advantages and disadvantages and it is likely that each will be used during the exploration of Mars. The choice of ConOps for Mars' EVAs will likely be dependent on the science objectives of that EVA balanced with the associated operational costs (such as human and rover transport cost).

This paper describes low-latency teleoperations (LLT) analyses performed by the NASA Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT), as part of the Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC). We will cover a variety of mission operations concepts and activities, including task details such as assumptions, sequences, timelines, and potential work systems. We will also present a preliminary task prioritization and potential implications for the Evolvable Mars Campaign and associated technology development.

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) is an underwater spaceflight analog that allows a true mission-like operational environment and uses buoyancy effects and added weight to simulate different gravity levels. Three missions were undertaken from 2014–2015, NEEMO 18–20. All missions were performed at the Florida International University's Aquarius Reef Base, an undersea research habitat. During each mission, the effects of communication latencies on operations concepts, timelines, and tasks were studied METHODS: Twelve subjects (4 per mission) were weighed out to simulate near-zero or partial gravity extravehicular activity (EVA) and evaluated different operations concepts for intergration and management of a simulated Earth-based science team (ST) to provide input and direction during exploration activities. Exploration traverses were preplanned based on precursor data. Subjects completed science-related tasks including presampling surveys, geologic-based sampling, and marine-based sampling as a portion of their tasks on saturation dives up to 4 hours in duration that were designed to simulate EVA on Mars or the moons of Mars. One-way communication latencies, 5 and 10 minutes between space and mission control, were simulated throughout the missions. Objective data included task completion times, total EVA times, crew idle time, translation time, ST assimilation time (defined as time available for ST to discuss data/imagery after data acquisition). Subjective data included acceptability, simulation quality, capability assessment ratings, and comments. RESULTS: Precursor data can be used effectively to plan and execute exploration traverse EVAs (plans included detailed location of science sites, high-fidelity imagery of the sites, and directions to landmarks of interest within a site). Operations concepts that allow for presampling surveys enable efficient traverse execution and meaningful Mission Control Center (MCC) interaction across communication latencies and can be done with minimal crew idle time. Imagery and contextual information from the EVA crew that is transmitted real-time to the intravehicular activity (IVA) crewmember(s) can be used to verify that exploration traverse plans are being executed correctly. That same data can be effectively used by MCC (across comm latency) to provide meaningful feedback and instruction to the crew regarding sampling priorities, additional tasks, and changes to the EVA timeline. Text / data capabilities are preferred over voice capabilities between MCC and IVA when executing exploration traverse plans over communication latency.

Phobos is a scientifically interesting destination which offers engineering, operational and public outreach activities that could enhance subsequent Mars surface missions. A Phobos mission would serve to facilitate the development of the human-based Mars transportation infrastructure, unmanned cargo delivery systems, as well as habitation and exploration assets that would be directly relevant to subsequent Mars surface missions. It would also potentially provide for low latency teleoperations (LLT) of Mars surface robots performing a range of tasks from landing site validation to infrastructure development to support future crewed Mars surface Missions. A human mission to Phobos would be preceded by a cargo predeploy of a Phobos surface habitat and a pressurized excursion vehicle (PEV) to Mars orbit. Once in Mars orbit, the habitat and PEV would spiral to Phobos using solar electric propulsion (SEP)-based systems. When a crewed mission is launched to Phobos, it would include the remaining systems to support the crew during the Earth-to-Mars orbit transit and to reach Phobos after insertion into a high Mars orbit (HMO). The crew would taxi from HMO to Phobos in a spacecraft that is based on a MAV to rendezvous with the predeployed systems. A predominantly static Phobos surface habitat was chosen as a baseline architecture. The habitat would have limited capability to relocate on the surface to shorten excursion distances required by the PEV during exploration and to provide rescue capability should the PEV become disabled. PEVs would contain closed-loop guidance and provide life support and consumables for two crewmembers for two weeks plus reserves. The PEV has a cabin that uses the exploration atmosphere of 8.2psi with 34% oxygen. This atmosphere enables EVA to occur with minimal oxygen prebreathe before crewmembers enter their EVA suits through suit ports, and provides dust control to occur by keeping the suits outside the pressurized volume. When equipped with outriggers, the PEV enables EVA tasks without the need to anchor. Tasks with higher force requirements can be performed with PEV propulsion providing the necessary thrust to counteract forces. This paper overviews the mission operational concepts, and timelines, along with analysis of the power, lighting, habitat stability, and EVA forces. Exploration of Phobos builds heavily on the development of the cis-lunar proving ground and significantly reduces Mars surface risk by facilitating the design, development and testing of habitats, MAVs, and pressurized rover cabins that are all investments in Mars surface assets.

Commercial suborbital flights, which include 3–5 minutes of 0 g between hyper-g launch and landing phases, will present suborbital passengers with a challenging sensorimotor experience. Based on the results of neurovestibular research in parabolic and orbital flight, and the anticipated wide range of fitness and experience levels of suborbital passengers, neurovestibular disturbances are likely to be problematic in this environment. Pre-flight adaptation protocols might alleviate some of these issues. Therefore, we describe a set of sensorimotor tests to evaluate passengers before suborbital flight, including assessment of the angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), ocular skew and disconjugate torsion, subjective visual vertical, and roll vection. Performance on these tests can be examined for correlations with in-flight experience, such as motion sickness, disorientation, and visual disturbances, based on questionnaires and cabin video recordings. Through an understanding of sensorimotor adaptation to parabolic and orbital flight, obtained from many previous studies, we can then suggest appropriate pre-flight adaptation procedures.