Ethological Approach of the Human Factors from Space Missions to Space Operations

Abstract

Benefits of using the ethological approach in space field were first demonstrated on short-duration human missions then developed in the perspective of long-term missions for manned Mars exploration and Lunar village. We investigated a large panel of real and simulated situations (space shuttle, orbital stations, parabolic flights, bed rests, water immersion, confined chambers, Arctic expedition, and Antarctic bases) for better understanding the human adaptation to isolation, confinement, and autonomy. New goals of application are to propose complementary tools and an efficient method that assess positive actions of operators who cope with routine works and unexpected events while minimizing human factor (HF) risks in interactive space operations. As a preliminary study, we applied the ethological method for HF assessment within the interaction operators/systems during the satellite’s control-command operations. The question is on how the operators optimize their relationship with the system in which they interact as positive human dependability for the success of missions. The proposed method, based on the observation, description, and quantification of spontaneous spatial-motor actions, is to check the relevant behavioral indicators in operational situations. We give details about the tools and examples of analyses performed inside the network operations center (COR), at the Toulouse Space Center, in France. Observational data focused on interactions, actions, positions, displacements, distances, and orientations of the observed subjects in satellite’s post-launch situation on one side, and in routine situation on the other side. We completed the analyses during training procedures (Pleiades tests). The preliminary results support the relevance and report the opportunity of such an approach in next space operations. We emphasize the relationships between human behavior and human factor.