Learning From the Past to Advance the Future: The Adaptation and Resilience of NASA's Spaceflight Multiteam Systems Across Four Eras of Spaceflight.

Many important "grand" challenges-such as sending a team of humans on a voyage to Mars-present superordinate goals that require coordinated efforts across "multiteam systems" comprised of multiple uniquely specialized and interdependent component teams. Given their flexibility and resource capacity, multiteam system structures have great potential to perform adaptively in dynamic contexts. However, these systems may fail to achieve their superordinate goals if constituent members or teams do not adapt their collaboration processes to meet the needs of the changing environment. In this case study of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Spaceflight Multiteam Systems (SFMTSs), we aim to support the next era of human spaceflight by considering how the history of manned spaceflight might impact a SFMTS's ability to respond adaptively to future challenges. We leverage archival documents, including Oral History interviews with NASA personnel, in order to uncover the key attributes and structural features of NASA's SFMTSs as well as the major goals, critical events, and challenges they have faced over 60 years of operation. The documents reveal three distinct "eras" of spaceflight: (1) Early Exploration, (2) Experimentation, and (3) Habitation, each of which reflected distinct goals, critical events, and challenges. Moreover, we find that within each era, SFMTSs addressed new challenges adaptively by modifying their: (1) technical capabilities; (2) internal collaborative relationships; and/or (3) external partnerships. However, the systems were sometimes slow to implement needed adaptations, and changes were often spurred by initial performance failures. Implications for supporting future SFMTS performance and future directions for MTS theory and research are discussed.

Teamwork and collaboration in long-duration space missions: Going to extremes.

The scientific study of teamwork in the context of spaceflight has uncovered a considerable amount of knowledge over the past 20 years. Although much is known about the underlying factors and processes of teamwork, much is left to be discovered for teams who will be operating in extreme isolation and confinement during a future Mars mission. Special considerations must be made to enhance teamwork and team well-being for multi-year missions during which the small team will live and work together. We discuss the unique challenges of effective teamwork in a Mars mission scenario, and the difficulties of studying teamwork using analogs of the space environment. We then describe the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's current practices and research on teamwork, which includes team selection and composition, teamwork training, countermeasures to mitigate risks to effective team performance, and the measurement and monitoring of team functioning. We end with a discussion of the teamwork research areas that are most critical for a successful journey to Mars. (PsycINFO Database Record

Cognitive functioning in long-duration head-down bed rest.

INTRODUCTION: This report is one of a series on the Flight Analog Project, which is designed to lay the groundwork for a standard bed rest protocol. The Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is a self-administered battery of tests used on the International Space Station for evaluating cognitive functioning. Here, WinSCAT was used to assess cognitive functioning during extended head-down bed rest. METHODS: There were 13 subjects who participated in 60 or 90 d of head-down bed rest and took WinSCAT during the pre-bed rest phase, the in-bed rest phase, and the post-bed rest (reconditioning) phase of study participation. RESULTS: After adjusting for individual baseline performance, 12 off-nominal scores were observed out of 351 total observations during bed rest and 7 of 180 during reconditioning. No evidence was found for systematic changes in off-nominal incidence as time in bed rest progressed, or during the reconditioning period. DISCUSSION: Cognitive functioning does not appear to be adversely affected by long-duration head-down bed rest. Individual differences in underlying cognitive ability and motivation level are likely explanations for the current findings.

Artificial gravity as a multi-system countermeasure: effects on cognitive function.

The Space Flight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is used on the International Space Station to evaluate cognitive functioning after physical insult or trauma. The current study uses WinSCAT to assess cognitive functioning in a space flight analog (bed rest) environment where intermittent artificial gravity (AG) is being tested as a countermeasure. Fifteen male subjects (8 treatment, 7 control), who participated in 21 days of 6 degree head-down tilt bed rest, were assessed during the acclimatization phase, bed rest phase, and recovery phase. Individual differences were found within both the treatment and control groups. The treatment group accounted for more off-nominal WinSCAT scores than the control group. The length of time spent in bed rest was not associated with a change in cognitive function. Individual differences in underlying cognitive ability and motivation level are other possible explanations for the current findings.