Citation

Jones PM. Rev. Hum. Factors Ergon. 2010; 6(1): 172-197.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1518/155723410X12849346788787

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Human factors is a critical discipline for human spaceflight. Nearly every human factors research area is relevant to space exploration-from the ergonomics of hand tools used by astronauts, to the displays and controls of a spacecraft cockpit or mission control workstation, to levels of automation designed into rovers on Mars, to organizational issues of communication between crew and ground. This chapter focuses more on the ways in which the space environment (especially altered gravity and the isolated and confined nature of longduration spaceflight) affects crew performance and thus has specific novel implications for human factors research and practice. We focus on four aspects of human performance: neurovestibular integration, motor control and musculoskeletal effects, cognitive effects, and behavioral health. We also provide a sampler of recent human factors studies from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Language: en