Senses as Drivers for Space Habitats Design in Microgravity

Two of our PhD students – Monika Brandić Lipińska and Layla van Ellen presented a paper on Senses as Drivers for Space Habitats Design in Microgravity at the International Conferences of Environmental Systems (ICES)  https://www.ices.space/ during the Space Architecture session. 

This paper highlights the interdisciplinary features of health and wellbeing in the built environment and is one of the spearheaded projects emerging from the Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats Special Interest Group.

The conference covers topics related to humans living in space and working in extreme environments. The Space Architecture session focuses on the application of architectural principles to the design of facilities beyond Earth (orbital, lunar, planetary, deep space and interplanetary), to provide supportive and comfortable living and working environments, mission risk management, and enjoyment of life, in full recognition of the technical challenges presented by the environment.

The peer-reviewed paper presented by Monika and Layla studies evidence reports and other documents on human performance in space in order to present a concise overview of the effect of space conditions and weightlessness. The study of the senses that affect health and wellbeing highlights the importance of changes in the perception of space, the vestibular system, and proprioception. On top of that, it also demonstrates the importance of subjective perception. This paper connects human performance studies with established architectural design methods such as the use of colours, spatial layout, and haptic surfaces resulting in a set of specific design responses for microgravity habitats. These design suggestions and the follow-up guidelines could enable the development of habitats that enhance astronauts’ adjustment to microgravity environments and overall comfort. Follow-up research focuses on the development of technical guidelines and strategies to enhance astronauts psychological comfort in space habitats. 

The full publication can be found here.