Examining Teamwork of Space Crewmembers and Mission Control Personnel Under Crew Autonomy: A Multiteam System Perspective

Abstract

Introducing crew autonomy into the design of future space operations will involve a change in how responsibilities are distributed between crew and mission control and may disrupt the functioning of the space/ground multiteam system (MTS). During a 4-month space mission simulation we collected survey data from crewmembers and mission controllers tapping their team concept, perception of MTS cohesion and efficacy, task work and performance. Preliminary analyses indicate some aspects of team cognition that may be affected by crew autonomy. Crewmembers’ and mission controllers’ team concepts centered on members of their own component teams rather than the MTS. Mission controllers perceived higher cohesion— especially higher task cohesion—with crewmembers than vice-versa and were more likely than crewmembers to express high confidence in the efficacy of the MTS. While mission controllers and crewmembers expressed comparable levels of satisfaction with task performance, they disagreed on how much each component team contributed to task success.