Aiming performance during spaceflight: Individual adaptation to microgravity and the benefits of haptic support

Abstract

Sensorimotor performance is known to deteriorate during spaceflight. Prior research for instance documented that targeted arm motions are performed slower and less precise in microgravity conditions. This article describes an experiment on aiming performance during different stages of a space mission. Moreover, the influence of different haptic settings of the human-machine interface (HMI) was explored. Two separate studies are presented in which the same aiming tasks were performed with a force feedback joystick: 1) A terrestrial study (N = 20) to explore time and haptic setting effects and 2) a space experiment (N = 3) with a pre-mission session, three mission sessions on board the ISS (2, 4, and 6 weeks in space), and a post-mission session. Results showed that sensorimotor performance was mainly affected in the initial phase of exposure to microgravity and this effect was moderated by astronauts' sensorimotor skills. Providing low stiffness at the HMI, however, proved to be an effective measure to maintain aiming precision in microgravity.