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PROJECT ASTRA
Inspiration and Origins
From History and in Latin, to the Stars and Beyond
The name 'Astra' comes from the infamous Latin phrase "Per Aspera Ad Astra", which in English, translates to - 'Through Hardships to the Stars'. A fitting analogy to all the hardships and sufferings faced by astronauts in the line of civil duty while on missions in deep space and also countless days and nights sacrificed to prepare and train for the same. It is also a tribute and a respectful nod to the never ending curiosity and courage of mankind to explore, learn, and conquer the galaxy through enlightenment and knowledge.
The Vision
Grounded, Humanistic, and Connected
Man is a social animal. We are born of this world and are dependent on it for survival. Hence even though we develop the technology to one day become an interplanetary species, we cannot achieve that goal unless we find a way to connect back, to our friends and family, and to the Earth itself. We cannot put a man on Mars and expect him to stay in isolation for the next 3 years. Astra explores an immersive way to let future astronauts not just stay in touch , but to live and explore the same space inhabited by their friends and family back on Earth.
Evolution
Noble, Forward-Thinking, and Inspirational
Astra provides a scalable immersive solution to a challenging out-worldly problem through a noble, grounded, and humanistic approach. The system not only sparks all types of talks and conversations connecting future emerging technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and data halos, but also inspires people to think of the plausible possibilities of such a future and what can be achieved with it that can be beneficial in space, as well as on Earth.
Understanding the Challenge
Defining the Problem and Establishing Context
Knowing what truly is the challenge today in the world of advanced modes of transportation and defining the problem area is crucial before designing and brainstorming ideas for a change. This is applicable to every field and aerospace is no different. Hence understanding the background of a problem and its history is very important to establish context. Humans can solve any problem which arises, provided we first take time in evaluating the past and learn from it before designing for the future.
Imagine this scenario from the near future . . .
Space X's BFR shown for representational purpose only
In 2025, the first manned mission to Mars takes place, in a ship with a multi-national crew of 6 people
140 million miles
Average Distance to Mars
300 days
One way Journey to Mars
40 minutes
Communication Lag
"ALL NECESSARY CONDITIONS TO PERPETRATE A MURDER ARE MET BY LOCKING TWO MEN IN A CABIN FOR TWO MONTHS."
~ Cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, 1980
"Outer Space is terrifying - not just on the body, but also on the mind."
~ Astronaut Scott Kelly
Astronauts have been known to suffer from a spectrum of physical and psychological symptoms of social isolation in space like-
- Difficulty sleeping
- Irritability
- Mood liability
- Feelings of discouragement
- Heightened nervousness or anxiety
- Depression
- Other psychosomatic symptoms
- Post-flight personality changes
- Interpersonal tension
- Decreased cohesiveness
- Alteration in time sense
- Homesickness
- Changes in perceptual sensitivities
- Having too much free time
Social Isolation is not a modern day hurdle or any new problem that man has not faced before. Instead, it has been there since the early ages when mankind set sails to explore the seas and oceans. Right from the era of the mighty Vikings , to Christopher Columbus or the thousands of sailors who faced the never ending waters for months at a time had the same question in mind- How to keep people sane, productive and functioning for the entire length of the journey, with no scenery change, the same food and routine day in and day out? Astronauts in the future will be facing the same tough situation when traveling to Mars or anywhere beyond.
Astra Challenge
How to stay Connected?
How to stay Sane?
Secondary Research
Future Trend Research and Studying Case Studies, Articles, Books, and Documentation
Secondary research was done to study all the Government and Private Aerospace institutions, their future plans, and progresses over the years. Similarly, the endurance of human life and different cases of social isolation in extreme habitable places like the Arctic and Antarctic Research Facilities, Mars Mock-mission Dessert facilities, life aboard Submarines, and elderly people suffering from physical isolation were also studied and compared against the daily life of Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (I.S.S).
Astr Reseach
Exploratory Phase and Primary Research
Structured Qualitative Interviews, Intercept Interviews, Discussions, Conferences and Symposiums
Conducting Primary Research and getting to know the stakeholders and their pain points is the most important weapon in a designer's artillery. The stakeholders interviewed were NASA astronauts, aerospace experts, aviation and aerospace enthusiasts, psychologists, and designers. These were done using structured interview formats, intercept interviews, discussions and conversations through aerospace conferences, symposiums, and summits in Los Angeles area, and through online resources, social and digital media.
NASA Astronaut
If you want to become an Astronaut, be ready to give up on lots of things and know that you are going to miss them dearly, every minute, for a long, long time.
NASA Astronaut
All available face to face conversations get exhausted within the first 2 months and group projects are hard to come by at times.
Industry Expert
The NASA engineers who designed the ISS, wanted it to look like 2001 Space Odyssey, that’s why it is so white on the insides!
Industry Expert
The fear of disqualification is common among astronauts and hence hence they some times end up not signing up for the regular Psyche Evaluations while on a mission.
Psychologist
Social isolation is one of the most devastating things you can do to a human being, no matter their age.
Psychologist
Social isolation can be eased by simply giving a hug. Friendly platonic touching releases Oxytocin in the brain, lowers stress, boosts your immune systems, eases depression, and lessen fatigues.
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Astronaut Interview Insights
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Astronauts are like Glorified Technicians who maintain and keep all the equipment ready for the scientists and researchers on Earth to conduct different studies remotely.
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Mostly they work on their own personal projects and rarely work in groups.
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They have mandatory personal time before sleep allotted by NASA.
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They live in a fully customizable environment inside the International Space Station.
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The Prime Age of an astronaut is beyond their Reproductive Age due to concerns of cosmic radiation affecting reproductive capabilities in humans.
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Post- mission rehabilitation is sometimes really difficult for them.
Conceptualization
Brainstorming, Structuring the Concept, Developing Personas, and Building a Hypothesis,
After conducting Primary Research and getting to know the stakeholders and their pain points, the insights and all the knowledge gathered from this process was thoroughly analyzed using KJ coding methods and affinity mapping which resulted in valuable insights and opportunity spaces. Further, the problem space was defined and different concepts were developed and structured using already defined models. Four unique personas were fabricated to better understand the problem through a humane point of view and to develop solutions based on that. Finally a working hypothesis for a solution was formed which also summarized the concept.
Using Edward T. Hall's Interpersonal Proximity Model to structure day-to-day Oxytocin releasing activities
Hall's Interpersonal Proximity Model was used to structure the problem spaces and according to the insights, different activities done in our daily life which helps in releasing different levels of Oxytocin in our brains were brainstormed. These were structured and mapped against the Proximity Model to understand the different interpersonal spaces they naturally fall into. This also showed the problem space in general. Meaning, the physical on-Earth scenario between an astronaut, his family members and loved ones, and his co-workers, while comparing it to the physical in-space scenario where the astronaut is on a mission. The noticeable physical change in relationship spaces is what contributes to social isolation in space. (as shown below)
General Problem Space and Concept represented using Hall's Proximity Model
Astra Conceptualization
Persona 1: The Astronaut
Elliot, 47
The Persister
DEDICATED, OBSERVANT, CONSCIENTIOUS, TENACIOUS
PERSONAL INFO
Status: Married with 2 children
Occupation: Active NASA Astronaut
Location: Houston (Texas)
DESCRIPTION
Born in New Jersey, Electrical and System Engineer, Retired Naval Captain, 3 Space flight veteran and Commander of the ISS in 2 expeditions. Designated Naval Aviator with 8000+ flight-hours in 40 different aircraft and spacecrafts, Holds more than 200 carrier flight landings.
CORE VALUES
Experiences the world through the perception of opinions, prefers to take in and process information through his belief system.
IMMEDIATE GOALS
Stay connected with his loved ones when on a mission and share what’s going on in each other’s lives. Be there for his son and wife always.
BEHAVIORS
Prefers a democratic communication style with exchange of values. Prefers to be alone or interact one on one. Internally motivated by recognition of his dedicated work and convictions.
PET PEEVES
Teammates not living upto his expectations and having to do things which are against his beliefs and values.
Image used for representational purposes only
Design Hypothesis
Using Hall’s Proximity Model to choose the desired ‘oxytocin-releasing activity’ and enabling astronauts to go through that activity using the appropriate medium, we can transform their Relationship Spaces, thus addressing Social Isolation in deep space.
Design Development
Forming the System Architecture, Building Mood Boards, Ideating, 3D Modeling, and Rendering
Based on the Design Hypothesis formed, a system architecture was drawn to contain the needed components of the design system. Each of the component was specifically designed later by first building mood boards for inspiration and creating a visual theme and color palate to work with, and then ideation and brainstorming of different forms, concepts and ideas were done using analogue and digital design sketching. Finally, the selected concept sketches were converted to 3D models and rendered using appropriate softwares. Prototyping, user testing, and validating the concepts were conducted simultaneously.
The System Architecture
The System Architecture comprises of the end users- namely the astronauts, their co-workers, friends, families, and loved ones, an Analyzer module that takes in their bio-metric inputs at all times and analyzes it against their profile using Edward Hall's Interpersonal Proximity model and the Process Communication Model, and then suggests different activities to be done in the Astral World in virtual reality. These activities are termed as Astral Activities. A Screen module which is an mobile application is used to interact and connect all the modules together.
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Mood Boards
Mood-boards or Inspiration Boards are physical or digital collage of ideas which help to convey different moods, ideas, color schemes, materials, feelings, and visions which are otherwise difficult to convey verbally. This is a great way to put forward your design ideas, win pitches and get an early sign-off.
Astra Design Development
DESIGN IDEATION
Design Ideation
Ideation is a process by which you generate, develop and then communicate new ideas. Ideas can take many forms such as verbal, visual, concrete or abstract. The principle is simple to create a process by which you can innovate, develop and actualize new products. And as Design Process, from start-to-finish, rests on ideas and problem solutions.
PROTOTYPING
VR Prototyping and User Testing
Prototyping is one of the most important steps in the design process. Nothing brings you closer to the functionality of the final product than prototyping. Prototypes of different fidelity are used to get as much quick feedback as possible early on. Wireframes can be used to sketch out the blueprints and quick mockups show the feel and texture of the design, and brings to life the “experience” behind “user experience. High fidelity prototyping was done using Unity Engine and in virtual reality. The HTC vive and Oculus Rift platforms were used to demonstration and user test the built prototype with users, industry experts, and faculty.
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