Hey Siri, fix my spacecraft! A virtual assistant could help astronauts handle unexpected space mission issues

When astronauts make a long trip to Mars in the not so distant future, communication with mission control will be impossible for days at weeks at a time. Enter Daphne-At: A virtual assistant (VA) designed to help astronauts safely and effectively problems that arise on their spacecraft.

While Daphne -At might not be ready to help our astronauts on the way to Mars for the moment, researchers from the Texas A&M University – led by Dr. Daniel Selva – have published an article in The Journal of Aerospace Information Systems Describing Daphne’s ability to help resolve space vessel anomalies.

“Daphne-At uses a logical and data-based decision-making mixture to help astronauts make informed decisions when a problem arises on a spacecraft,” said Selva, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering. “The VA uses real -time spaceship data to detect anomalies, hypothesize what causes the problem and give astronauts about how to solve the problem.”

AV treats a real -time data flow of environmental controls of a spacecraft and survival systems, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and contaminant concentrations, and follows if these data values ​​are in the normal beach. If the values ​​fall from the normal beach – Depending on the oxygen concentration, the Daphne -At will alert astronauts and provide them with information to solve the problem.

Daphne-At uses a variety of data sources to diagnose problems when they occur and provide astronauts with operational procedures to solve problems quickly and calmly.

To test the effectiveness of Daphne-At, the researchers first used a virtual reality simulation to imitate the analog research installation on human exploration (HERA) in the Johnson Space Center of NASA. All study participants were students from Texas A&M University with different levels of knowledge in aerospace engineering and flight experience.

The researchers tested the time when participants were needed to resolve five anomalies with Daphne-At, and five anomalies without the help of Daphne-At. The researchers also tested the mental load of the participants and awareness of the situation during simulations.

The results showed that participants have resolved more anomalies in less time when using AV, and that the overall mental workload has been reduced. Consciousness of the situation has not changed significantly with the use of AV.

Additional tests were carried out in the installation of Hera. Participants included NASA engineers, pilots and other professionals. Eight crews of four participants stayed in Hera for 45 days each, leading various scientific studies. The results of this experience differ from laboratory results, showing that the use of Daphne-At did not significantly affect the time of the participants in the resolution of anomalies.

“Part of the difference is probably due to the differences in training and experience of participants,” said Selva. “There are only so many anomalies that we can present to participants, and trained professionals have had more time with AV and more opportunities to resolve different anomalies.”

In addition to helping astronauts, Daphne-At and VA similar have the potential to benefit workers in other areas, such as firefighters and emergency stakeholders, providing information to help make decisions and solve unexpected problems.

A future with Daphne-At helping astronauts and others may not be so far.

The co-authors include Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, professor of aerospace engineering and NASA astronaut, Dr Ana Diaz-Artiles, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, and Dr. Raymond Wong, associate professor of statistics.