Training the 8-Balls: Psychological Readiness Preparation for the 2013 US Astronaut Class
No abstract available
Barrett, Jamie D.↗
Engineering topics
Sipes, Walter
Publications and source records attributed to Sipes, Walter.
NASA's Astronant Family Support Office
During the NASA‐Mir program of the 1990s and due to the challenges inherent in the International Space Station training schedule and operations tempo, it was clear that a special focus on supporting families was a key to overall mission success for the ISS crewmembers pre‐, in‐ and post‐flight. To that end, in January 2001 the first Family Services Coordinator was hired by the Behavioral Health and Performance group at NASA JSC and matrixed from Medical Operations into the Astronaut Office's organization. The initial roles and responsibilities were driven by critical needs, including facilitating family communication during training deployments, providing mission‐specific and other relevant trainings for spouses, serving as liaison for families with NASA organizations such as Medical Operations, NASA management and the Astronaut Office, and providing assistance to ensure success of an Astronaut Spouses Group. The role of the Family Support Office (FSO) has modified as the ISS Program matured and the needs of families changed. The FSO is currently an integral part of the Astronaut Office's ISS Operations Branch. It still serves the critical function of providing information to families, as well as being the primary contact for US and international partner families with resources at JSC. Since crews launch and return on Russian vehicles, the FSO has the added responsibility for coordinating with Flight Crew Operations, the families, and their guests for Soyuz launches, landings, and Direct Return to Houston post‐flight. This presentation will provide a summary of the family support services provided for astronauts, and how they have changed with the Program and families the FSO serves. Considerations for future FSO services will be discussed briefly as NASA proposes one year missions and beyond ISS missions. Learning Objective: 1) Obtain an understanding of the reasons a Family Support Office was important for NASA. 2) Become familiar with the services provided for astronauts and their families and how they changed with the Program and family needs.
Beven, Gary↗
Space Flight Resource Management for ISS Operations
This slide presentation reviews the International Space Station (ISS) Operations space flight resource management, which was adapted to the ISS from the shuttle processes. It covers crew training and behavior elements.
Schmidt, Larry↗
Crew Health and Performance Improvements with Reduced Carbon Dioxide Levels and the Resource Impact to Accomplish Those Reductions
Carbon dioxide (CO2) removal is one of the primary functions of the International Space Station (ISS) atmosphere revitalization systems. Primary CO2 removal is via the ISS s two Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRAs) and the Russian carbon dioxide removal assembly (Vozdukh); both of these systems are regenerable, meaning that their CO2 removal capacity theoretically remains constant as long as the system is operating. Contingency CO2 removal capability is provided by lithium hydroxide (LiOH) canisters, which are consumable, meaning that their CO2 removal capability disappears once the resource is used. With the advent of 6 crew ISS operations, experience showing that CDRA failures are not uncommon, and anecdotal association of crew symptoms with CO2 values just above 4 mmHg, the question arises: How much lower do we keep CO2 levels to minimize the risk to crew health and performance, and what will the operational cost to the CDRAs be to do it? The primary crew health concerns center on the interaction of increased intracranial pressure from fluid shifts and the increased intracranial blood flow induced by CO2. Typical acute symptoms include headache, minor visual disturbances, and subtle behavioral changes. The historical database of CO2 exposures since the beginning of ISS operations has been compared to the incidence of crew symptoms reported in private medical conferences. We have used this database in an attempt to establish an association between the CO2 levels and the risk of crew symptoms. This comparison will answer the question of the level needed to protect the crew from acute effects. As for the second part of the question, operation of the ISS s regenerable CO2 removal capability reduces the limited life of constituent parts. It also consumes limited electrical power and thermal control resources. Operation of consumable CO2 removal capability (LiOH) uses finite consumable materials, which must be replenished in the long term. Therefore, increased CO2 removal means increased resource use, with increased logistical capability to maintain necessary resources on board ISS. We must strike a balance between sufficiently low CO2 levels to maintain crew health and CO2 levels which are operationally feasible for the ISS program
James, John T.↗
Cognitive Assessment in Long-Duration Space Flight
This slide presentation reviews the development and use of a tool for assessing spaceflight cognitive ability in astronauts. This tool. the Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) has been used to provide ISS flight surgeons with an objective clinical tool to monitor the astronauts cognitive status during long-duration space flight and allow immediate feedback to the astronaut. Its use is medically required for all long-duration missions and it contains a battery of five cognitive assessment subtests that are scheduled monthly and compared against the individual preflight baseline.
Kane, Robert↗
Cognitive Assessment During Long-Duration Space Flight
The Space Flight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is a computer-based, self-administered battery of five cognitive assessment tests developed for medical operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. WinSCAT is a medical requirement for U.S. long-duration astronauts and has been implemented with U.S. astronauts from one NASA/Mir mission (NASA-7 mission) and all expeditions to date on the International Space Station (ISS). Its purpose is to provide ISS crew surgeons with an objective clinical tool after an unexpected traumatic event, a medical condition, or the cumulative effects of space flight that could negatively affect an astronaut's cognitive status and threaten mission success. WinSCAT was recently updated to add network capability to support a 6-person crew on the station support computers. Additionally, WinSCAT Version 2.0.28 has increased difficulty of items in Mathematics, increased number of items in Match-to-Sample, incorporates a moving rather than a fixed baseline, and implements stricter interpretation rules. ISS performance data were assessed to compare initial to modified interpretation rules for detecting potential changes in cognitive functioning during space flight. WinSCAT tests are routinely taken monthly during an ISS mission. Performance data from these ISS missions do not indicate significant cognitive decrements due to microgravity/space flight alone but have shown decrements. Applying the newly derived rules to ISS data results in a number of off-nominal performances at various times during and after flight.. Correlation to actual events is needed, but possible explanations for off-nominal performances could include actual physical factors such as toxic exposure, medication effects, or fatigue; emotional factors including stress from the mission or life events; or failure to exert adequate effort on the tests.
Seaton, Kimberly↗
Human Behavior and Performance Support for ISS Operations and Astronaut Selections: NASA Operational Psychology for Six-Crew Operations
The Behavioral Health and Performance group at NASA Johnson Space Center provides psychological support services and behavioral health monitoring for ISS astronauts and their families. The ISS began as an austere outpost with minimal comforts of home and minimal communication capabilities with family, friends, and colleagues outside of the Mission Control Center. Since 1998, the work of international partners involved in the Space Flight Human Behavior and Performance Working Group has prepared high-level requirements for behavioral monitoring and support. The "buffet" of services from which crewmembers can choose has increased substantially. Through the process of development, implementation, reviewing effectiveness and modifying as needed, the NASA and Wyle team have proven successful in managing the psychological health and well being of the crews and families with which they work. Increasing the crew size from three to six brought additional challenges. For the first time, all partners had to collaborate at the planning and implementation level, and the U.S. served as mentor to extrapolate their experiences to the others. Parity in available resources, upmass, and stowage had to be worked out. Steady progress was made in improving off-hours living and making provisions for new technologies within a system that has difficulty moving quickly on certifications. In some respect, the BHP support team fell victim to its previous successes. With increasing numbers of crewmembers in training, requests to engage our services spiraled upward. With finite people and funds, a cap had to placed on many services to ensure that parity could be maintained. The evolution of NASA BHP services as the ISS progressed from three- to six-crew composition will be reviewed, and future challenges that may be encountered as the ISS matures in its assembly-complete state will be discussed.
VanderArk, Steve↗
Current Psychological Support for US astronauts on the International Space Station
This viewgraph presentation describes the psychological support services that are offered to the United States astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The contents include: 1) Operational Psychology; 2) NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO); and 3) ISS.
Sipes, Walter↗
Duration Limits for Orbital Flight: Current Considerations for the International Space Station
According to ISS documentation, long-duration missions are defined as missions exceeding 30 days. The ISS medical organization has set a 180-day limit for ISS missions from a medical perspective, with a possibility of planning missions of up to 220days with additional consideration. The ISS medical community does not currently consider changes to the existing duration constraints for ISS mission planning. However, longer stays on orbit may be highly desirable or even necessary in certain foreseeable operational circumstances. To develop a methodology for contingency planning, the ISS medical community, led by NASA, has identified medically relevant risks associated with extended stays of crewmembers aboard the ISS.
Smith, Gwen↗
Development of a Human Behavior and Performance Training Curriculum for ISS Astronauts
The paper will describe the DACUM process and summarize the core competencies that were agreed upon, internationally, as important for ISS astronauts. The paper will further discuss the ongoing work being completed by the subgroup, Human Behaviour and Performance Training Working Group, including defining the competencies and behavioural markers. Finally, an overview of remaining work will be provided, including determining which competencies require formal training and which require no formal training, developing training objectives, sequencing the training, and establishing how to assess training effectiveness. DISCUSSION: Designing a common set of goals for behavioural training has been the desire of the SHBP WG since its inception in 1998. This group, along with training specialists and astronauts, are making great strides toward defining these competencies. The road ahead will be exceedingly challenging as training objectives are defined and a training flow is proposed to the MCOP; with proposed ISS crews increasing to six people in the near future, such enhanced behavioural training may be all the more essential for mission success.
VanderArk, Steve↗
Neuropsychological Testing of Astronauts
The Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is a computer program that administers a battery of five timed neuro-cognitive tests. WinSCAT was developed to give astronauts an objective and automated means of assessing their cognitive functioning during space flight, as compared with their own baseline performances measured during similar prior testing on the ground. WinSCAT is also intended for use by flight surgeons to assess cognitive impairment after exposure of astronauts to such cognitive assaults as head trauma, decompression sickness, and exposure to toxic gas. The tests were selected from among a group of tests, denoted the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, that were created by the United States Navy and Army for use in evaluating the cognitive impairment of military personnel who have been subjected to medication or are suspected to have sustained brain injuries. These tests have been validated in a variety of clinical settings and are now in the public domain. The tests are presented in a Microsoft Windows shell that facilitates administration and enables immediate reporting of test scores in numerical and graphical forms.
Flynn, Christopher↗
Behavioral Health Support of NASA Astronauts for International Space Station Missions
Two areas of focus for optimizing behavioral health and human performance during International Space Station missions are 1) sleep and circadian assessment and 2) behavioral medicine. The Mir experience provided the opportunity to examine the use and potential effectiveness of tools and procedures to support the behavioral health of the crew. The experience of NASA has shown that on-orbit performance can be better maintained if behavioral health, sleep, and circadian issues are effectively monitored and properly addressed. For example, schedules can be tailored based upon fatigue level of crews and other behavioral and cognitive indicators to maximize performance. Previous research and experience with long duration missions has resulted in the development and upgrade of tools used to monitor fatigue, stress, cognitive function, and behavioral health. Self-assessment and objective tools such as the Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool have been developed and refined to effectively address behavioral medicine countermeasures in space.
Sipes, Walter↗