A Crowd-Sourcing Project to Understand, Prevent and Manage Incidences of Injury and Wounding to Astronauts and Off-Earth Colonists

Abstract

Recent technical successes of the unmanned Mars 2020, Tianwen-1 and Hope Mars missions have further increased our hunger for space exploration and the possible colonisation of Mars is now firmly on the mid-term horizon. Furthermore, renewed commitment to settle on the Moon is anticipated within the next three years, led by NASA’s Artemis programme utilising the pan-space agency constructed lunar Gateway or Space X’s Starship system. These programmes will necessitate a larger number of astronauts spending longer periods in space and despite rigorous risk identification and mitigation procedures, injury is an inevitable consequence and management procedures will demand efficient and effective implementation. We have employed Cognitive Work Analysis to derive an abstraction hierarchy for reducing the potential for physical injury and managing the consequence of injury in space. We have used a crowd-sourcing approach to cluster factors and themes which may emanate from within or without habitat and consider solution management in the light of current and emerging technology. In addition, we also consider mental fitness as a confounder which may emerge during missions and propose methods for both measurement and management.