Human Habitation in a Lunar Electric Rover during a 14-Day Field Trial

Abstract

Various military and commercial entities, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have conducted space-cabin confinement studies. However, after an extensive literature search, only one study was found using a simulated lunar rover (LUNEX II), under laboratory conditions, with a crew of two for an 18-day lunar mission. Forty-three years later, NASA human-factors engineers conducted a similar study using the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) in a dynamic real-world lunar simulation at the Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona. The objective of the study was to obtain human-in-the-loop performance data on the vehicle's interior volume with respect to human-system interfaces, crew accommodations, and habitation over a 14-day mission. Though part of a larger study including 212 overall operational elements, this paper will discuss only the performance of fifty different daily habitational elements within the confines of the vehicle carried out by two male subjects. Objective timing data and subjective questionnaire data were collected. Results indicate, much like the LUNEX II study, the LER field study suggest that a crew of two was able to maintain a satisfactory performance of tasks throughout the 14-day field trail within a relative small vehicle volume.