HECIA

@ Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

In collaboration with:
NASA

explore HECIA

We know that the built environment has affects our behavior, physiology, and psychology - but what do we know about these relationships and how are they interrelated? To explore the relationship between design decisions (for instance, habitat layout or mission duration) and behavioral health, we built HECIA: Human-Environment Connection & Interaction Atlas.

The human-environment relationship is complex, especially in a challenging environment such as spaceflight. Traditionally within the aerospace industry, human factors recommendations are focused sets of recommendations for singular applications that are not generalizable across the entire design space. Within human spaceflight, habitats have typically offered shelter in the purest form - sustaining a breathable atmosphere, a comfortable temperature, and providing food/water. Human safety, health, and performance were the priorities, with well-being, emotional state, and behavioral health gaining prominence more recently.

The atlas is organized into three layers, with each subsequent layer offering more complexity. Within the final (3rd) layer, each box/factor has a definition, as well as connected relationships, that are based in an extensive literature review. We take advantage of a ‘directed acyclic graph’ format, meaning each connection is one-way and never forms a loop. This helps provide structure and organization to the network, but we recognize that real-life is more complicated than that. This framework is a point of departure. The relationships mapped here are just as important as the arguments, reactions, and agreements that follow. We welcome thoughts and dialogue sent to hecia-info@mit.edu

available at hecia.space