Enhancing well-being aboard confined Space environments: the role of Design research in the EMMPOL 8 analogue mission

   EuroMoonMars is an ILEWG initiative including several activities in the space field to facilitate Moon and Mars exploration [1-6]. EMMPOL missions are organized by EMM and AATC, aboard a confined simulator in Poland. The EMMPOL8 (9-16th September 2021) focussed on psychological wellbeing in confinement. During the simulation, biological experiments were also conducted by the crew to analyse the impact of microgravity and different light conditions on the growth of plants and to assess the lunar dust simulant toxicity to various organisms. 
   Here, we present three experiments with a focus on design which were performed by Serena Crotti, Vice-Commander of the mission, in the context of her MSc Thesis research in Integrated Product Design at Politecnico di Milano, under the academic supervision of Professors A. Dominoni, B. Quaquaro and B. Foing. Design for Space is an emerging discipline that applies design principles to the aerospace sector; increasing wellbeing and comfort are the main tasks of designers in this area. As missions get longer, psychophysical wellbeing becomes fundamental [7-9]. The following experiments stem from this context.
   The Emotion Wall. An emotional monitoring system was tested during the EMMPOL8. It collects psychological data from individuals via a dedicated software; afterwards, it processes them into a visual representation of the crew’s emotional state. This experiment was carried out in collaboration with Brent Reymen and Abdelali Ez Zyn. Testing the system and evaluating its impact on crew dynamics were the main objectives. Real-time psychological data were collected to investigate individuals’ reactions to environmental stressors. This helped keep track of criticalities that can be turned into design opportunities to improve wellbeing.
  Multi-sensory Scenarios and the Scents Experiment. Multi-sensory Scenarios exploited light, sounds and scents to simulate different environmental settings aboard. Projections recreated shadows cast by hypothetical windows and were accompanied by natural sounds and scents. In the Scents Experiment, astronauts were exposed to olfactory stimulations related to food evoking daily life. These were provided by the company AromaDesign. Stimulating the crew’s senses to provide relief from claustrophobia and monotony was the main aim. Interviews and surveys monitored the crew’s reactions.

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