Sets versus Mock-Ups | December 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Earlier this year, the Star Voyager: Exploring Space on Screen show opened at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne. My contribution to the exhibition catalogue edited by Emma McRae and Sarah Tutton looks at the grey zone of hard fact and speculation in design for space habitation. It highlights the sometimes fluid boundaries between architecture that's in real operation, the mock-ups we use to evaluate potential future architecture, and the design of habitat sets of science fiction film. 

Basic Wear System v Boredom | November 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Crewmember Charles Romain in the Mars500 galley in a simple white T-shirt.  [IMBP]

After 520 days, November saw the end of the Mars500 simulation at IMBP in Moscow. Almost all of the stock of shorts and shirts that we consulted on for the study's clothing sponsor earlier last year will have been worn by now. According to the crew, time in the simulator began to stretch a bit especially during the return-leg of the mission; if novelty interventions such as an occasional green sock, or the affordance to pick garments according to personal preference helped break up the routine remains to be reviewed. 

Hacking in Orbit | October 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Video still of astronaut Don Pettit using a drill, portable record player and flashlight during one of his 'Saturday Morning Science' sessions on ISS. [NASA]

… however, tinkering is not edifying in all instance. Our user account review also classified other types of engagement with hardware from constant repair to playful hacks on a continuum of frustration and pleasure. Further issues remain to be addressed. These include compatibility and supply of consumables suitable for hacking in a one-off, autonomous habitat system without re-supply (since material doesn't accumulate like during subsequent missions in a single habitat such as MIR, ISS or MDRS); content management, particularly the tracking, retrieving and labelling of recombined, reconfigured or disassembled items; and, finally, managing the subversive aspect of hacking together with mission control.

Practical Jokes in Orbit | October 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sample of user accounts, frequency of entries and mission duration of the user diary study. [R. Peldszus]

Categories of hardware involvement of practical jokes carried out in orbit as identified during the user diary study.  [R.Peldszus]

This autumn, I presented the results of a study on the monotony and isolation experience of astronauts and cosmonauts at the space architecture session at the International Astronautical Congress 2011 in Cape Town. In view of developing autonomous design-based countermeasures, the study reviewed six published onboard user diaries from historical and contemporary operational space stations (and a life simulation). Aside from watching out the window and receiving surprise provisions with cargo vehicles – which rely on close proximity to Earth – the theme of onboard tinkering and hacking appeared a prominent monotony-buster. The plus: It can be pursued regardless of wether the mission destination is lower earth orbit or deep space. One of the sub-categories of tinkering were practical jokes that can be taxonomised with regards to their hardware-involvement as outlined in the graphic above. 

Scenarios on Emergency in Deep Space | September 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Conceptual installations by the students to wrap up the RCA workshop. Two of the five teams focussed on issues surrounding onboard burial and ground-based grieving processes... 

... and individual crew support through wearable computing, respectively (Images: Charlotte Jarvis/ Regina Peldszus).

This month, I was invited to run a one-day workshop on human factors in extreme environments with 20 Design Interaction masters students at the Royal College of Art, together with Charlotte Jarvis. The workshop participants responded to a fictional but feasible future mission scenario involving a remote duty station in deep space, where a crew member has been experiencing – and initially hiding – a painful medical condition. After a morning of hands-on familiarisation with group dynamics in unusual or extreme settings, the participants plotted different chains of events in the mission scenario, and developed one particular situation with its ethical, emotional or logistical dimension in more detail. The associated issues and implications touched upon in the participants' final responses – in the form of speculative products, systems or services – ticked a number of boxes of exploration-related R&D taxonomies from preventative and onboard medical care, in situ restraint of individual crew members and onboard ambient intelligence to legal issues, risk perception, loss of crew and more.

On Tektite II | September 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Exterior of Tektite I [Image: NOAA]

Our interview with the intrepid oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle (headed by Chris Hatherill) is out in the current print issue of AnOther magazine. In 1970, Earle led the first all female team of aquanauts during the Tektite II programme and lived in the subaquatic habitat for two weeks. "... the most important aspect of living underwater was the gift of time, of being able to stay long enough to get insight into the nature of a place," she said. "Things that you take for granted on the land, whether it's going into a forest or climbing a mountain, you cannot do down there. But you can sit there for hours, days, weeks – you get to see the changes over time."

Fictional Prototype | August 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Diagramme outlining different operational concept of the fictional prototype study Surprise Payload Rack [Image: R. Peldszus]

Straight after Kazakhstan last month, I presented a paper at the symposium Science Fiction Prototyping for Technology Innovation hosted by Intel Technology Research alongside the 7th International Conference on Intelligent Environments in Nottingham, UK. My talk discussed the usability-related organisational context of the 'Surprise Payload Rack', a conceptual prototype of a countermeasuring system for monotony in long duration space missions. The inflight system releases randomised or predetermined novelty interventions based on the profile of its user – but can be hacked, and is embedded in the operational complexities of an unspecified international space agency. In the paper, the prototype was presented in the format of a fictional familiarisation manual and related email instructions whose acronyms and descriptions allude to different situational components, stakeholders and relationships of a human spaceflight infrastructure in a near future scenario.

Buran & Baikonur Cosmodrome | July 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Inside the cockpit of Buran at Baikonur City – best head cover. [Image: R.Peldzus] 

Final stop of the AA's nomadic studio: via the Aral Sea and extended 35hrs train journey to Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. We had permission to observe a rocket launch from the complex (Zenit-3M with Spektr-R payload), climbed inside the Buran cockpit, visited some of the historic and contemporary pre-launch haunts of cosmonauts, and spent more time than planned in a historic Proton capsule (for an impression, see Nelly Ben Hayoun's piece in Domus). More news as publication and exhibition develop. 

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone | July 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Outside the sarcophagus surrounding Reactor 4 in Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant [Image: R. Peldszus]

Onboard as collaborator with the Architectural Association's Unknown Fields Division, I joined their travelling studio to past and future space and nuclear sites including the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the Aral Sea and Baikonur Cosmodrome in July. Led by Liam Young and Kate Davies, we chased through Ukraine and Kazakhstan by train, plane and improvised ad-hoc car convois, stopping to wander through deserted towns. Other project partners and collaborators included Nelly Ben Hayoun, Michael Madsen, Vincent Fournier, Will Wiles, Emmanuel Vercruysse, Jonathan Gales, Neasden Control Centre, Philips Design Probes and Volume. 

Uncertainty | July 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sun as viewed from Mars in 2005. Crewed deep space missions signify unprecedented, high-risk settings. [Image: NASA, with added question mark]

In the beginning of July, I was invited to attend the symposium Uncertainty and Management of Uncertainty at the Daimler and Benz Foundation in Berlin. The forum is part of the foundation's research programme which focuses on the wider relationships of technology and society. 

Nature vs Infrastructure | June 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Svalbard's striking power station. Image: Reuben Wu

My well-travelled photographer friend Reuben Wu has just finished his book on Svalbard, based on one recent example of his frequent forays to remote or unusual places. The book contains a brief epilogue I wrote that reflects on the unforgiving interplay within the human-technology-nature triangle – manifested in both cutting-edge and crumbling but resilient infrastructure. Aside from shooting the vast snowscapes, the global seed vault and SOUSY, Reuben stayed in a tiny field-hut.

Empathy Tools | June 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

NASA Neutral Buoyancy Simulator Training in the 1970s. Image: NASA

Crewed deep space exploration missions are characterised by unprecedented situational constraints and autonomy in an isolated, confined and utterly remote setting. In light of an unparalleled scenario, space human factors design can draw on, and translate, data from previous user experiences to address behavioural challenges, but also relies on modeling and simulation.
In relation to this context, I gave a talk at the Deutsche Telekom Laboratories Design Research Lab at UdK Berlin on so-called empathy tools, highlighting a number of cases on a broad spectrum of evidence and speculation. We can use empathy tools for the immersion in – and possible discussion of – an otherwise inaccessible setting to dig out insights and issues relevant to the space systems development process and beyond. 

Two of the most interesting recent pieces in this area, space or other extreme environments, is Wraughk Audio Design's Deep Sea and the Austrian Space Forum's Aouda.X space suit simulator.

Footnote on Paris Air Show | June 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Roaring dynamic display at Paris Air Show [Image: R.Peldszus]

Classic and effective: representation of the Soyuz launch complex in Guiana Space Center, currently under construction [Image: R. Peldszus]

EADS added layer manufacturing with beautiful remnants of support structure [Image: R. Peldszus]

Trade day at Le Bourget. Technology aside, one of the meta-narratives is the ever-increasing variety of displays on show – from traditional static and dynamic presentations, old school scaled table-top models, to minuscule ALM rapid prototypes, 3D VR suites, hybrid simulations and formation-dancing Airbus employees. 

Hybrid Models | May 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Powerful models throug synthesising empirical evidence and extrapolation. (Image: Regina Peldszus)

Continuing on the theme of designing for unprecedented mission scenarios, I gave a talk on evidence-based and speculative models in space human factors at the Design + Computation Conference at McGill University in Montreal. 

Looking at human needs in extended missions – and how they've been successfully (or not) addressed in the past – we can draw on a body of anecdotal and empirical evidence on one hand. On the other end of the spectrum, and especially when long-term human behaviour is concerned, we are also relying on long-term simulation and 'informed guesses' about the nature of those future settings and human adaptation. 

Arguably, our models would be at their most insightful when both evidence and speculative 'wild cards' of human behaviour are fused. While risks are real in day-to-day space operations, there's only so much you can ask human participants to endure during a life ground-based simulation and stay on the right side of research ethics. This is were fictional models come in: They allow us to play out issues and events in a ‘para’ reality that is otherwise out of bounds. Serious gaming has been of increasing interested in this context – a striking recent example from the medical field is the training sim Patient Rescue by TruSim.

Fiction & Augmented Forms of Enquiry | May 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

On the set of Moon by Duncan Jones, and in a mock-up at NASA's Habitability and Environmental Factors Division. (Images: Liberty Films, NASA)

In early May I gave a guest lecture at the RCA's Design Interactions department in London on simulation and design fiction with regards to behavioural scenarios in extended space missions. Science fiction film has routinely explored the more sinister and unpleasant aspects of isolation and confinement. Sometimes, both fact and fiction use similar types of models: For Moon, Duncan Jones built a full set of a moon base to set the scene for a long-term narrative to unfold, while at NASA JSC, full-scale models are used to evaluate ergonomics. A contemporary snapshot I took of the blurring interface of fact and fiction just appeared in POST magazine. 

Space Architecture Exhibition | Apr 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

In the galley area of the Mars500 simulator in Moscow. The crew will stay until October 2011  (Image: ESA)

To mark the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first flight, the British Council headquarters in London are hosting the small exhibition Forward to Mars: Design and Architecture for Space, from April 5-30th, 2011, curated in partnership with Blueprint magazine. One of the designs on show will be my surprise intervention concept developed in collaboration with SEI and manufacturer Bruno Banani for the ongoing Mars500 isolation study at IMBP in Moscow.

Remoteness Experience in Deep Space | Feb 2011 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The roughly threefold nature of isolation in extended space exploration missions as outlined in the literature. Image: R. Peldszus

Talking on designing the remoteness experience of long duration missions at Kosmica, hosted by The Arts Catalyst. There was a discussion with the audience afterwards that can be summarised as conerning 'soft' versus 'hard' aspects of the human factor, and why current spacecraft interiors look the way they do.

Other guests included Nelly Ben Hayoun and Prof David Lee Wark, Imperial College. This was the first in a monthly series of evening talks endorsed by the IAF's Technical Activities Committee for the Cultural Utilisation of Space (ITACCUS). 

Remote Isolation, Autonomy & Situational Awareness | Dec 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Spatial Layers of Human Interaction in Deep Space Exploration Missions from the Perspective of Crew Psychology. Image: R. Peldszus.

In December, the Lost in Space Workshop hosted by UCL Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, UCL Bartlett and UEL Centre for Evolutionary Computing, featured a range of interdisciplinary talks on all things spatial – from a cognition, construction and navigation perspective – from animal behaviour to urban traffic modelling, acoustics and the philosophy of travelling. It opened with a session on Perceiving Space, which, after an opening on algorithmic architecture by Luciana Parisi of Goldsmith's, included my talk on Remote Isolation, Autonomy & Situational Awareness: Layers of Spatiality and Their Relationship to Human Behaviour in Deep Space Exploration Missions.

Human Technology Nature Integration | Nov 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Complex versus complicated: Jungle and ISS Destiny module. (Image: R.Peldszus; NASA)

Dean Kenning's Centre for Useless Splendour – A Book has just been launched with a section called Machine Room. It includes my essay  on the interface of Human-Nature-Technology  Integration in extreme environments, complementing an earlier collaborative study on greenhouses in space.

Spaceflight Settings as Laboratory for Critical Design | Oct 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The utilisation of a pair of chopsticks is changed when the parameter of gravity is changed. Image: RP.

Is the International Space Station the the largest, heaviest and fastest piece of critical design today? What do astronauts demonstrate when they tinker, hack and DIY on station? Can designing products and interactions for deep space missions tell us about the human condition? I'm discussing whether we might be able to use Spaceflight Settings as Laboratory for Critical Design (and how to do it) during the upcoming Swiss Design Network's Negotiating Futures - Design Fiction conference in Basel next week. 

Plantgrowth Facilities in Space | Nov 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Cosmonaut Victor Savinykh with plants onboard Salyut 6 [Image: Spacefacts/ J. Becker]

Our new design study on the habitability benefits of plant-growth facilities in spacecraft on extended exploration missions has just come out in Acta Astronautica. Conducted in collaboration with Vienna-based space architect Sandra Haeuplik-Meusburger and landscape designer Verena Holzgethan, it presents a review of previous greenhouses in microgravity and proposes strategies for integration in inflight psychological support measures. More human-nature-technology integration news to follow in the coming months.

Sensory Stimulation Issues in Mars Simulation | Sep 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Samples of 6 single notes were administered during the study [Image: R.Peldszus]

Results of the collaborative study on sensory stimulation during a Mars Desert Research Station simulation presented at the 61st International Astronautical Congress in Prague, led by principal investigator Irene L Schlacht of the Human Machine Systems department at the Technical University of Berlin. My input included a review on olfactory issues in space and the procurement of fragrance oil samples from International Flavours & Fragrances for the simulation. Although initially relatively indifferent to trying out the scents, subjects responded strongly to the olfactory stimuli. This was part of ongoing work on olfactory aspects for long duration missions tying in with previous work of the Design Research Centre and Astonautics & Space Systems Group. More news next year.

How Would Mies Design A Space Station? | Oct 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

NASA astronaut Bob Curbeam and ESA’s Christer Fuglesang install a truss at the orbital building site in 2006. With the arrival of the Cupola window module and the Leonardo MPLM, construction of the ISS is in its final stages. Image: NASA.

This month's giant issue of ICON magazine has come out as the London Design Festival starts. In the review section, I'm reporting from the Space Architecture session at the recent meeting in Barcelona at AIAA's ICES. Held just a stone's throw away from Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona pavilion, I'm left to speculate how he would have designed a space station – the complexity and clutter of contemporary space habitation interiors might have driven him literally to the edge. 

Design Against Boredom | Aug 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Crew member Yue Wang with improvised martial arts gear in the exercise module of Mars500. Image: IMBP

The isolation study at Mars500 at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow is in its third month. Earlier this year, I described how in collaboration with SEI who partnered with clothing sponsor Bruno Banani we developed interventions for the basic and active wear system of the crew to combat monotony. Variety in the T-shirts, socks and shorts that are worn for a few days and then discarded can break up what may become a routine in the simulator. Right now, the crew seem to be enjoying themselves with impromptu DIY outfits, like Yue Wang demonstrates in the exercise module, and DIY birthday presents. Designing variety into the clothing system in this 'analog' way would become obsolent once laundry technology for space has advanced and garments can be re-used in increasingly closed-loop habitation systems.

Space Design Scenarios & Science Fiction | July 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The sample included 30 films from 9 different countries from the 1950s to 2009 [Images: R.Peldszus]

Research on design scenarios for the psychological habitability of exploration missions, presented at the Space Architecture session of the 40th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 11-15th July, Barcelona. We established a sample of science fiction films whose setting can be regarded as comparable to extended space mission scenarios, and then analysed and described their production designs. The interesting aspects of science fiction in a space context are not so much the design solutions, but issues on social and human technology interaction they raise, reflect or critique. Our findings propose the inclusion of designing for fictional narratives to make space mission scenarios more robust. The paper includes a case study reconstructing the different steps in the design development of the food system in the Discovery spacecraft in Kubrick's 2001.

Extreme Architecture at LFA | July 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Further Reading – our follow-up event to the recent symposium at the RIBA Foldaway Bookshop during the London Festival of Architecture highlighted recent publications in space architecture and extreme environments.

Our display of vintage space publications and memorabilia from the US, Russian and European space programmes  [Image: Danielle Price]

Extreme Architecture Symposium at LFA | June 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The audience at green/space in The Book Club in East London [Image: D.Perrot]

As part of the  London Festival of Architecture, I co-organised an afternoon symposium GREEN/SPACE with super/collider. We explored architecture for space and extreme environments, focusing on mobility, in situ resource utilisation and sustainability. Speakers included Phil Wells of Hugh Broughton Architects, Magnus Larsson and his Dune project, Vienna-based space architect Sandra Haeuplik-Meusburger, and Flavia Galvagni of Lab Zero in Italy.

Design of Kubrick's 2001 | May 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Discussing the production design of 2001 as part of the panel "The Making of 2001" hosted by Peter Kramer with Jan Harlan and Tony Frewin at the Kubrick Visions symposium at the University of Hertfordshire. The event featured a range of speakers including both experts from the film industry and those who worked closely with Stanley Kubrick on key films including 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was part of a research project into scenario building and speculative design for space conducted between 2008 and 2010 in close collaboration with the Stanley Kubrick Archive in London. 

The Stanley Kubrick Archive at UAL designed by Nightingale Associates [Image: Luke Potter]

MARS500 Isolation Study | Jan–Apr 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Design input for surprise aspects in the basic wear system in close cooperation with Ralf Heckel of the International Space Education Institute SEI, Leipzig, Germany, for clothing sponsor Bruno Banani in the framework of the long duration isolation study at the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IMBP), Moscow, Russian Federation. 

Integration of clothing with the simulator interior is critical. Standardisation and simplicity facilitate housekeeping, work and exercise – while later on in a mission, changes in the habitation system can present a welcome change from a routine. 
For now, laundry is still a challenge in spaceflight. During the isolation study, garments are worn for several days and then discarded; this logistical aspect provided opportunity for the introduction of novel or mission time-line relevant elements, and scope for individual control.

Preliminary concept of the clothing system with degrees of intervention for different types of basic and active wear [Image: R. Peldszus] 

MDRS Isolation Study | Feb-Apr 2010 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Habitability Project on Sensory Stimulation in Space (Crew 91, Euro Moon Mars), Utah, US. A study into the impact of olfactory stimulation and habitability in isolated crews, as part of a wider habitability study at Mars Desert Research Station. Principal Investigator was Irene L. Schlacht of the Man-Machine-Systems Group, Technical University Berlin, and olfactory samples were supplied by IFF International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.

Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, US, at night. The simulator hosts short duration crews, but is located geographically remote [Image: Mars Society]

The interior of MDRS is confined and functional, but often perceived as homely [Image: I.Schlacht]

Sparse, but Mars: The surrounding exterior is a rocky desert, resembling the surface of Mars. EVAs are part of the short duration studies [Image: I.Schlacht]

Diving Simulation | Jul 2009 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Simulating an orbital repair mission at the International Space University SSP09, Life Sciences Department, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, US with Prof Gilles Clément, Dr Sheryl Bishop & Dr Jeff Jones.

Repair of the "Hubble Telescope" in a standard pool at NASA Ames. Movement, interaction and safety in neutral buoyancy is comparable to some extent to handling objects in microgravity and during EVA [Image: S.Bishop & J.Jones]

MedicalR&D Visit | Jul 2009 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trying out laparoscopic and robotic tele-surgery at Stanford Research International, Telesurgery & Telerobotics, CA, US during ISU SSP09 with Prof Gilles Clément and Dr Jeff Jones. 

Robotic surgery. Tele-medicine will be crucial for future exploration missions that are characterised by a high degree of autonomy [Image: A.Pollinger]

Practicing suturing in a laparoscopic trainer box [Image: A.Pollinger]

SpaceR&D Visit | Jul 2009 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Visiting the Human Factors Division at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, US with Prof Gilles Clément.

The powerful centrifuge at NASA Ames, one of the biggest in the world [Image: R.Peldszus]

On the way to the human factors site: the grounds of NASA Ames Research Center are packed with interesting structures [Image: R.Peldszus]

Microgravity Game Development | Mar-Dec 2008 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Illustrating design-in-use in a representational mock-up of ISS [Image: R.Moss]

Development of a preliminary concept of a simple tactile strategy game for use in µG, a collaborative design study with Sandra Hauplik-Meusburger & Manuela Aguzzi. The prototype was also tested with elderly dementia patients, many of whom can benefit from – and frequently enjoy – visually stimulating and tactile interaction in play. 

The prototype mocked-up in a standard flight bag [Image: M.Aguzzi]

The game can be played by one or more players. The velcro connectors interface with the standard restraints on ISS [Image: M.Aguzzi]

Human Factors Feasibility Study | Feb-Jul 2008 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Conducting a feasibility study of an evidence-based human factors collection for future space systems development for Loredana Bessone at the European Space Agency's European Astronaut Centre EAC, Cologne, Germany.

The European Astronaut Centre is home to the astronaut corps, the training division and medical support. The centre includes a 10m deep neutral buoyancy facility (NBF) and a large training hall with functional and representational mock-ups
of the ISS [Image: ESA]

Snow 2.0 Arctic Lappland | Jan 2008 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Back to IRF in Kiruna, Sweden, to participate in the Arctic Science Programme held by Prof Carol Norberg during polar winter.

The backyard of the Ice Hotel in Yukkasjaervi in Lappland [Image: R.Peldszus]

... and a snow mobile approaching the building site on the back of the hotel. Using collapsible moulds, small snow habitats can be mass produced here for special events [Image: R.Peldszus]

SpaceR&D Visit | Jan 2008 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

At the European Space Agency, European Space Research & Technology Centre ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands as part of the Columbus Essay Contest.

Inside an assembly facility at ESTEC [Image: R.Peldszus]

A reminder to keep the lab tidy [Image: R.Peldszus]