Human Factors for Space Settlement

Students enrolled in this Graduate Certificate program will examine human factors for space settlement, take into consideration the unique challenges posed by long-term space travel and human habitability in the hazardous space environment.

This program is designed to familiarize students with space settlement concepts, functions, and experiences focusing on application and development of systems improving safety and advancing the performance of equipment, spacecraft design, procedures, health and nutrition. An emphasize will be placed on human centered design systems, related to but not limited to: psychology, perception performance limitations and errors, the human experience and simulations in mixed reality environments, and the evolving impacts of anthropometrics, biomechanics and ergonomics of human effectiveness.

Human Factors for Space Settlement

Choose any three of the courses listed below and one three-credit elective from any certificate program.

HFS 500: Human Spaceflight and Performance (3 credits)

This course examines the effects of spaceflight on human health, productivity, and safety. Students will explore the impact of varying gravity fields, methods and technologies to address isolation/confinement, radiation, and living in closed environments, by assessing their effects on behavioral, psychological, physiological, and medical factors. Students shall investigate methodologies to mitigate overall risks of human spaceflight and facilitate longer exploration missions to achieve space settlement. Topics may include achieving safe spacecraft environment, air and water measuring and monitoring technologies, and quality assurance testing of critical life support systems.

HFS 501: Human System Integration (3 credits)

This course introduces the concepts and mechanisms which operators interact with computer systems and machines. Topics shall include human-machine interfaces onboard spacecraft (physical, cognitive, sensory, functional, informational, operational, social, and environmental); human information processing; the iterative process] usability principles; models of interaction; user interface paradigms; multi-modal interfaces; auditory displays; human cognition; vision science; visuomotor control; tele-robotics; virtual environments; ergonomics assessments and solution; system prototypes; and experimental methods, evaluation, and tools.

HFS 502: Arts and Recreation (3 credits)

This course examines the materialization of recreational and leisure services, and entertainment platforms on space settlements. Students shall investigate the intersection of science and arts to critically evaluate leisure in its diverse forms with the goal to enhancing the overall quality of individual and community lives. Students will explore models, theories, tools and techniques required in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of recreation and leisure activities, the history of media, roles, responsibility, and impact of music, television, radio, print, film, internet, social media, mixed reality, on-demand and interactive technologies.

HFS 503: Culture, Faith and Psychology (3 credits)

This course examines the manifestation and applications of faith, spirituality and beliefs through a cultural and psychological perspective. Topics shall include origins of faiths, nature of religion, concept and beliefs of God, social identity (gender, race, sexuality, nationality), consciousness, doctrine, myth and symbols, ethics, impact on social and societal behaviors, influences on human health, and connections to death and bereavement.