About Human Factors and Behavioral Performance

The HFBP element seeks to better understand and mitigate the behavioral health effects of long duration spaceflight, including those related to isolation, confinement, sleep loss, work overload, deep space radiation, and weightlessness.

HFBP also seeks insights into how to structure successful teams for space missions, as well as how to design space missions so that human factors—the way people interact with machines, tools, and procedures—don’t add any stressors during spaceflight. HFBP works to ensure that humans can efficiently navigate through mission-critical tasks as well as the more mundane tasks involved with daily life. To those ends, HFBP scientists and managers deliver strategies that ensure crew health and performance in the context of spacecraft design, training, human-robotics interactions, and psychological and team readiness.

Teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Kennedy Space Center in Florida collaborate to manage the impact of known spaceflight hazards on human health. HFBP also uses a combination of laboratory, analog, and flight studies to conduct research to address risks.

In addition, HFBP works collaboratively with organizations such as the National Institute of Health and behavioral health, medical and human factors research teams within the military services. Research universities and medical schools also participate in HFBP-supported studies.

These research partnerships are of critical importance. Learn more about how to collaborate with HFBP!