Design of an Augmented Reality System to Support Human Extravehicular Activity

Abstract

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is an operation or activity performed by astronauts wearing protective spacesuits in the space vacuum environment. During current EVAs on the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts receive directions and other information through audio communication with Earth-based personnel known as Mission Control Center (MCC) and based off physical cuff-checklists that have listed instructions for the EVA. NASA has planned Artemis missions to the Lunar South Pole, where the Sun imposes long and dark shadows across the already-unfamiliar terrain, hindering astronauts visual perception and spatial awareness. Furthermore, the increasing distance between MCC and astronauts as missions travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, introduces a time-delay in communication on the magnitude of minutes. Thereby, increased crew autonomy is necessary to enable astronauts to make informed decisions during EVAs based on real-time information. This thesis project presents an Augmented Reality (AR) user interface (UI) system for the EVA spacesuit helmet bubble that increases task efficiency and crew situation awareness (SA) during EVAs. Virtual Reality (VR) using a Meta Quest Pro headset and Unity 3D was employed to provide a high-fidelity test environment that simulated the lunar surface. Human-in-the-loop testing was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. 23 participants were collected to perform a Navigation Task and Rock Sampling Task in the VR environment. Task time was collected and compared for trials without the AR system and with the AR system; overall, task time decreased with the AR system. Participants also rated their performance using the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and tended to rate their performance higher when using the AR system. Qualitative feedback was collected from participants to receive design suggestions and criticisms to influence the next design iteration. The final prototype presents novel UI elements in the EVA design space, including a Heads-up Display, Cuff Checklist, and 3D Navigation System.