Conversational User Interfaces to support Astronauts in Extraterrestrial Habitats

Abstract

Long-term space missions are challenging and demanding for astronauts. Confined spaces and long-duration sensory deprivation may cause psychological problems for the astronauts. In this paper, we envision how extraterrestrial habitats (e.g., a habitat on the Moon or Mars) can maintain the well-being of the crews by augmenting the astronauts. In particular, we report on the design, implementation, and evaluation of conversational user interfaces (CUIs) for extraterrestrial habitats. The goal of such CUIs is to support scientists during their daily and scientific routines on their missions within the extraterrestrial habitat and provide emotional support. During a week-long so-called analog mission with four scientists using a Wizard of Oz prototype, we derived design guidelines for such CUIs. Successively, based on the derived guidelines, we present the implementation and evaluation of two CUIs named CASSIOPEIA and PEGASUS.