Across Space and Time

How to maintain connections on deep space missions
MJ Marggraff (Space Health, EdD)

The next giant leap for humankind is to return to the Moon, establish a sustained presence and prepare for the next giant leap to Mars. These remarkable accomplishments will, however, pose several threats to astronauts’ well-being. NASA has identified the threat of isolation on deep space missions as one of the most serious risks to the human system and astronaut health. To mitigate this risk, it is essential to provide connection between astronauts and their family and close friends but current means of connection will not be sufficient or possible. Furthermore, any communication will be challenged by the inevitable time-delays due to the distance between the Moon and Mars from Earth. To address the both isolation and time-delay, a novel concept was developed to create a social presence between astronauts in space and family and friends on Earth.

The concept, currently in development by a leading U.S. university, combines technology and cognitive science to maintain and enhance connectedness and supports space health and cognitive performance on deep space missions. We propose that a social agent is used to ‘‘time-shift’ exchanges that are designed to create a real-time feeling of connection in asynchronous conditions between astronauts in space with others on Earth. Data will be collected from participants residing on a deep space analog. Finally, this concept was formulated for society by a startup company (Kinoo, Inc.) that has manufactured a product to reduce isolation in families by connecting family members living at a distance from one another.

Architectures and Infrastructures