OBJECTIVES:
Among the remarkable team challenges NASA faces in long-duration space exploration (LDSE) missions is the need to maintain team shared mental models (SMMs). Maintaining team SMMs requires the ability to detect shifts in cognition that will likely occur during the mission that could lead to ineffective crew functioning and performance. Maintaining team SMMs also requires validated countermeasures for bringing team members' cognitive understanding back into alignment. Leaving low Earth orbit requires extreme teamwork. Team SMMs need to be maintained within teams operating close up (the crew), and between teams operating at an unprecedented distance (i.e., the crew and ground; 33 million miles in the case of a mission to Mars).

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Crew health and performance is critical to successful human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The Human Research Program (HRP) investigates and mitigates the highest risks to human health and performance, providing essential countermeasures and technologies for human space exploration. Risks include physiological and performance effects from hazards such as radiation, altered gravity, and hostile environments, as well as unique challenges in medical support, human factors, and behavioral health support. The HRP utilizes an Integrated Research Plan (IRP) to identify the approach and research activities planned to address these risks, which are assigned to specific Elements within the program. The Human Research Roadmap is the web-based tool for communicating the IRP content.

The Human Research Roadmap is located at: https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/