Jennifer Rochlis, Ph.D.

NASA’s first strategic goal is to “expand the frontiers of knowledge, capability, and opportunity in space.” The major initiatives for human exploration of the solar system beyond low Earth orbit include missions to cis-lunar space, the lunar surface, asteroids, and eventually on to Mars. This staged approach on the “Journey to Mars” allows for increasing capability development and progressive “proving ground” opportunities for testing advanced technologies and meeting human performance goals… Show more

NASA’s first strategic goal is to “expand the frontiers of knowledge, capability, and opportunity in space.” The major initiatives for human exploration of the solar system beyond low Earth orbit include missions to cis-lunar space, the lunar surface, asteroids, and eventually on to Mars. This staged approach on the “Journey to Mars” allows for increasing capability development and progressive “proving ground” opportunities for testing advanced technologies and meeting human performance goals. To meet those performance goals, in addition to ensuring the health and safety of the flight crew, mission planners and designers must employ human systems integration strategies to ensure that human capabilities and limitations are treated on par with hardware and software systems, such that overall “human plus system” performance is optimized (for both flight and ground personnel). This requires an understanding of the key systems trades along with the availability of standards, countermeasures, and mitigations that can be provided, based on NASA’s current research profile. Show less

Designed and built under agreements among the US, Russian, Canadian, Japanese, and European space agencies, International Space Station (ISS) has been continually inhabited since November, 2000. Adaptability makes ISS a valuable laboratory for "post-occupancy evaluation" of a spaceflight habitat and habitation systems. The pressurized human-habitable modules of ISS have hatches at each connection point that allow isolation of a module in the event of an emergency – i.e., depressurization, fire,… Show more

Designed and built under agreements among the US, Russian, Canadian, Japanese, and European space agencies, International Space Station (ISS) has been continually inhabited since November, 2000. Adaptability makes ISS a valuable laboratory for "post-occupancy evaluation" of a spaceflight habitat and habitation systems. The pressurized human-habitable modules of ISS have hatches at each connection point that allow isolation of a module in the event of an emergency – i.e., depressurization, fire, or toxic spill. ISS is a major contributor to our understanding of how to live and work in space for extended periods of time, including not only advances in the mechanics of keeping humans aloft and alive, but advanced understanding of the very real challenges of keeping humans healthy, productive, and reasonably happy in contained environments. The vehicle operates in an extremely hostile environment, and carries its own self-sufficient, atmospherically-pressurized volume to support the lives of its crew. Show less

The NASA/SP-2015-3709, Human Systems Integration (HSI) Practitioner's Guide, also known as the "HSIPG," provides a tool for implementing HSI activities within the NASA systems engineering framework. The HSIPG is written to aid the HSI practitioner engaged in a program or project (P/P), and serves as a knowledge base to allow the practitioner to step into an HSI lead or team member role for NASA missions. Additionally, this HSIPG is written to address the role of HSI in the P/P management and… Show more

The NASA/SP-2015-3709, Human Systems Integration (HSI) Practitioner's Guide, also known as the "HSIPG," provides a tool for implementing HSI activities within the NASA systems engineering framework. The HSIPG is written to aid the HSI practitioner engaged in a program or project (P/P), and serves as a knowledge base to allow the practitioner to step into an HSI lead or team member role for NASA missions. Additionally, this HSIPG is written to address the role of HSI in the P/P management and systems engineering communities and aid their understanding of the value added by incorporating good HSI practices into their programs and projects. Through helping to build a community of knowledgeable HSI practitioners, this document also hopes to build advocacy across the Agency for establishing strong, consistent HSI policies and practices. Human Systems Integration (HSI) has been successfully adopted (and adapted) by several federal agencies-most notably the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-as a methodology for reducing system life cycle costs (LCCs). These cost savings manifest themselves due to reductions in required numbers of personnel, the practice of human-centered design, decreased reliance on specialized skills for operations, shortened training time, efficient logistics and maintenance, and fewer safety-related risks and mishaps due to unintended human/system interactions. Show less

In this chapter, we survey the current state of the art in space telerobots. We begin by defining relevant terms and describing applications. We then examine the design issues for space telerobotics, including common requirements, operational constraints, and design elements. A discussion follows of the reasons space telerobotics presents unique challenges beyond terrestrial systems. We then present case studies of several different space telerobots, examining key aspects of design and… Show more

In this chapter, we survey the current state of the art in space telerobots. We begin by defining relevant terms and describing applications. We then examine the design issues for space telerobotics, including common requirements, operational constraints, and design elements. A discussion follows of the reasons space telerobotics presents unique challenges beyond terrestrial systems. We then present case studies of several different space telerobots, examining key aspects of design and human–robot interaction. Next, we describe telerobots and concepts of operations for future space exploration missions. Finally, we discuss the various ways in which space telerobots can be evaluated in order to characterize and improve performance. Show less

In this chapter, we survey the current state of the art in space telerobots. We begin by defining relevant terms and describing applications. We then examine the design issues for space telerobotics, including common requirements, operational constraints, and design elements. A discussion follows of the reasons space telerobotics presents unique challenges beyond terrestrial systems. We then present case studies of several different space telerobots, examining key aspects of design and… Show more

In this chapter, we survey the current state of the art in space telerobots. We begin by defining relevant terms and describing applications. We then examine the design issues for space telerobotics, including common requirements, operational constraints, and design elements. A discussion follows of the reasons space telerobotics presents unique challenges beyond terrestrial systems. We then present case studies of several different space telerobots, examining key aspects of design and human–robot interaction. Next, we describe telerobots and concepts of operations for future space exploration missions. Finally, we discuss the various ways in which space telerobots can be evaluated in order to characterize and improve performance. Show less

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) strategic vision includes, as part of its long-term goals, the exploration of deep space and Near Earth Asteroids (NEA). To support these endeavors, funds have been invested in research to develop advanced exploration capabilities. To enable the human mobility necessary to effectively explore NEA and deep space, a new extravehicular activity (EVA) Jetpack is under development at the Johnson Space Center. The new design leverages knowledge… Show more

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) strategic vision includes, as part of its long-term goals, the exploration of deep space and Near Earth Asteroids (NEA). To support these endeavors, funds have been invested in research to develop advanced exploration capabilities. To enable the human mobility necessary to effectively explore NEA and deep space, a new extravehicular activity (EVA) Jetpack is under development at the Johnson Space Center. The new design leverages knowledge and experience gained from the current astronaut rescue device, the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER). Whereas the primary goal for a rescue device is to return the crew to a safe haven, in-space exploration and navigation requires an expanded set of capabilities. To accommodate the range of tasks astronauts may be expected to perform while utilizing the Jetpack, it was desired to offer a hands-free method of control. This paper describes the development and innovations involved in creating two hands-free control interfaces and an experimental test platform for a suited astronaut flying the Jetpack during an EVA. Show less

International Space Station operations require onboard crewmembers to perform numerous robotic assembly, maintenance, and inspection activities. Ground-based control of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), in particular the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), has been identified as one potential solution to alleviate disproportionate robotic maintenance and inspection timelines that potentially exceed crew availability and duty times. Challenges to operator performance and safety of… Show more

International Space Station operations require onboard crewmembers to perform numerous robotic assembly, maintenance, and inspection activities. Ground-based control of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), in particular the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), has been identified as one potential solution to alleviate disproportionate robotic maintenance and inspection timelines that potentially exceed crew availability and duty times. Challenges to operator performance and safety of ground-based control of these manipulators include significant data and telemetry latency. Recent trends of transmissions between the International Space Station and NASA's Mission Control Center have determined the round-trip time delay can range from 6-8 seconds. The purpose of this study was to examine operator performance when subjects performed representative dexterous robotic tasks with anticipated command and telemetry time delays. Results from this study may determine whether augmentations to existing operator tools and procedures are required in order to manually control the SPDM from ground-based workstations Show less

The project goal was to determine whether computer based training increases proficiency if one trains for a camera based task using computer generated virtual environments with enhanced lighting conditions such as shadows and glare rather than color shaded computer images normally used in simulators.