If humans are ever to build, live and eventually thrive on the moon or Mars \u2014 momentum for this idea is growing at NASA and any number of private organizations \u2014 they must learn to stretch the boundaries of their mental and physical abilities.<\/p>\n
How can people be prepared to work in microgravity, low or no atmosphere, without a traditional sense of direction or orientation \u2014 or in extreme environments on Earth \u2014 and how can we do it safely?<\/p>\n
Manish Dixit \u201809, a Texas A&M assistant professor of construction science, is leading a team of researchers developing virtual reality- based simulations to train people to work and live in these environments in a three-year, $1.2 million National Science Foundation<\/a>-funded study.<\/p>\n Learning to adapt in an extraterrestrial location or in a place where common environmental reference points are absent can be a life or death matter, Dixit said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re in a city, you can look down the street and kind of know how far a building is away from you,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a car is coming at you, you can judge the approximate speed of it because the trees, cars, buildings, and your knowledge of the existing environment helps you with your perception.<\/p>\n \u201cBut imagine on the moon or Mars, there is nothing to compare something to. How do you judge distance, size or speed if something is coming at you?\u201d<\/p>\n Dixit and his team are also creating simulations and training for other extreme environments. \u201cDeserts have similar challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are only sand dunes for miles and miles. How do you perceive distance and size there?\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a desperate need for alternative training procedures because existing methods are expensive, strenuous and dangerous, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo train workers for microgravity conditions like space, parabolic flights are used to experience a microgravity-like environment through free fall,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is expensive and risky. Each flight has to perform multiple parabolic climbs and descents to achieve a few seconds of microgravity.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, as the number of people training to go to space is few, Dixit said it\u2019s a somewhat reasonable method, but what about when space is colonized? How will all those people be trained?<\/p>\n Traditional scuba diving training methods are also risky, he said. \u201cIn 2014, nearly 1,220 emergency room visits due to scuba injuries were reported in the U.S. alone, resulting in 188 deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n Dixit, Ann McNamara and Andr\u00e9 Thomas, both visualization faculty members, along with Joseph Orr and Jyotsna Vaid, faculty members of the Texas A&M Department of Psychological Brain Sciences<\/a>, and Greg Chamitoff, a There are simulations for the International Space Station, underwater, microgravity (free- floating and altered), Martian, lunar, polar (north and south) and desert situations, as well as a city environment as a control scenario.<\/p>\n In the simulations, subjects are asked to perform spatial tasks using virtual objects that test their spatial skills.<\/p>\n Subjects\u2019 eye movements, brain electrical activity, cognitive strategies and mental workload during behavioral tests are monitored in simulated, normal, and altered environments. The team then applies the results to create a framework for virtual training or video games to help people compensate and learn the abilities to keep them safe and productive in alternative environments.<\/p>\n The research team\u2019s findings and simulations are also relevant on Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cAltered conditions exist here too,\u201d Dixit said. \u201cIn wildfires, when first responders are helping, they can lose their sense of direction, orientation, and spatial ability. When Hurricane Harvey came, people had issues navigating when they couldn\u2019t see the road.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s also planning high school visits to let students try out the virtual simulations and start discussions about how all the science and rules they know could change in alternate environments where they may work or live someday.<\/p>\n Dixit\u2019s results and VR simulations will be released as open source upon the study\u2019s completion so anyone can develop and use it.<\/p>\n The study was paused during the COVID-19 crisis, but a pilot study that will adhere to social distancing guidelines is set for the fall.<\/p>\n Its funding is from the Future of Work at the Human Technology Frontier Program<\/a> of the National Science Foundation\u2019s Division of Computer and Network Systems.<\/p>\n For more information, contact rnira@arch.tamu.edu<\/a> or doswald@tamu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CoSci assistant professor Manish Dixit is learning how humans can best be trained to work on the moon, Mars or extreme environments on Earth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":6573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[87,63],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLearning New Spatial Skills and Environmental Rules<\/h2>\n
A Less Dangerous Way to Train for Alternate Environments<\/h2>\n
Training for Mars and More in Virtual Reality<\/h2>\n
\nformer astronaut and professor of aerospace engineering, have created VR simulations for a variety of alternate conditions that could mentally prepare trainees.<\/p>\nHelping Disaster Victims and Responders<\/h2>\n
Open Source Solutions<\/h2>\n