Gender Parity and Parastronauts: Anticipating trends for the 2021 ESA astronaut selection criterion with analog mission studies

Abstract

Analog Habitat LunAres Research Station" started operations in 2017. Until March 2021 it hosted 11 two-week analog missions that varied in research angle and scope. Depending on the scientific objectives, the crew was selected by the LunAres management team or other institutions/researchers in case of a private mission. The requirements for participants were determined based on the mission objectives, however, there was a general criterion regarding the crew structure-diversity. In terms of background, age, nationality, gender and personality, the variety was pursued. It resulted in clear and indicated gender parity both in crew composition and crew leadership. Such trends were both seemingly obvious and natural and there was no surprise with both the Artemis project and ESA 2021 astronaut selection criteria focusing on greater female representation. And yet it was not a common practice even in analog mission scenarios observed in the last decade. In this paper, we will explain why such an occurrence happened in the Polish analog habitat. At the same time, ESA's Parastronaut selection was announced. LunAres Research Station's ICAres 1 mission from 2017 under the directory of Dr Aleksander Wasniowski was the world's first analog mission involving and focusing on movement impaired analog astronaut. The study had a noticeable impact in the extreme medicine stage. The study was featured two times as a keynote presentation during the Extreme Medicine Expo in 2018 and 2019. In this presentation, we would like to reiterate team findings and share project development since 2017. Analog research studies showed some examples of what the future might look like-it is imperative to share more of existing knowledge that is in line with current trends in astronaut selection criteria.

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IAC-21,B3,1,5
Gender Parity and Parastronauts: Anticipating trends for the 2021 ESA astronaut selection criterion with
analog mission studies
Leszek Orzechowskia*, Agata Mintusb, Aleksander Waśniowskic, Natali Ćwilichowskad
a Space is More, Mikulskiego 17, 52-420, Wrocław, Poland, leszek@spaceismore.com
b Space is More, Mikulskiego 17, 52-420, Wrocław, Poland, agata.mintus@spaceismore.com
c Space is More, Mikulskiego 17, 52-420, Wrocław, Poland
d Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland
* Corresponding Author
Abstract
Analog Habitat LunAres Research Station” started operations in 2017. Until March 2021 it hosted 11 two-week analog
missions that varied in research angle and scope. Depending on the scientific objectives, the crew was selected by the
LunAres management team or other institutions/researchers in case of a private mission. The requirements for
participants were determined based on the mission objectives, however, there was a general criterion regarding the
crew structure - diversity. In terms of background, age, nationality, gender and personality, the variety was pursued. It
resulted in clear and indicated gender parity both in crew composition and crew leadership. Such trends were both
seemingly obvious and natural and there was no surprise with both the Artemis project and ESA 2021 astronaut
selection criteria focusing on greater female representation. And yet it was not a common practice even in analog
mission scenarios observed in the last decade. In this paper, we will explain why such an occurrence happened in the
Polish analog habitat. At the same time, ESA’s Parastronaut selection was announced. LunAres Research Station’s
ICAres 1 mission from 2017 under the directory of Dr Aleksander Wasniowski was the world’s first analog mission
involving and focusing on movement impaired analog astronaut. The study had a noticeable impact in the extreme
medicine stage. The study was featured two times as a keynote presentation during the Extreme Medicine Expo in
2018 and 2019. In this presentation, we would like to reiterate team findings and share project development since 2017.
Analog research studies showed some examples of what the future might look like – it is imperative to share more of
existing knowledge that is in line with current trends in astronaut selection criteria.
Keywords: space mission, disability, LunAres Research Station, parity
Acronyms/Abbreviations
Space is More (SIM)
Innovative Concepts Ares mission 1 at LunAres
Research Station (ICAres-1)
Extravehicular Activity (EVA)
LunAres - Luna/Ares
ESA
NASA
1.
Introduction
1.1. Governmental Human Spaceflight
Contemporary Governmental Human
Spaceflight Programs are shifting focus from low-earth
orbit missions to long-term human exploratory missions
to the Moon and Mars. Furthermore, current NASA and
ESA astronaut selections are aimed at inclusivity in terms
of gender and revision of health requirements for future
astronauts (ESA, 2021). The latter is also relevant for the
rapidly developing private human spaceflight sector that
broadens the scope of potential crew composition and
health requirements (Slotnik, 2021). That kind of shift
requires in-depth studies on technologies and human
factors. One of the methods to investigate scientific,
technological and operational aspects of future human
exploratory missions are analog test and analog mission
simulations that allow for a safe, cost-effective, artificial
environment that provides researchers and users with
adequate conditions.
1.2. Analog research
Analog tests often use an analog facility to
recreate and monitor artificial conditions - relevant to
studies on human presence in space. Simulating space
activities and mission conditions inside an analog facility
provides a more controlled environment and
reproducibility of research. Depending on the study,
different conditions and factors need to be simulated.
When it comes to manned space exploration, human
factors can be the most complex to investigate, as there
are multiple influences having impacts on the well-being,
health, psychology and operation of the crew.
1.3. Poland involvement in Human Spaceflight research
Poland, aside from participating in the USSR
Intercosmos programme in the 1960s and 1970s, was
largely uninvolved in human spaceflight programs and
space exploration as a whole. With Poland's admission to
ESA in 2012, the national space sector began rapid

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development. While as of 2021 there is no official Polish
governmental human spaceflight program, Polish Space
Agency (POLSA) and polish researchers are getting
increasingly involved in the ESA Human Spaceflight
Program. There is also an increase in national scientific
institutions' involvement in human spaceflight research.
One of Poland's testbeds for research in space medicine
and human factors for space exploration is an analog
facility called LunAres Research Station.
1.4. Polish Analog Facility - LunAres Research Station
LunAres Research Station, as a Polish analog
facility supports research focusing mainly on human
factors in collaboration with national and international
partners (Mintus, Orzechowski, & Ćwilichowska, 2020).
Station is located in a post-military airfield, which uses a
large aircraft hangar for isolated Extravehicular Activity
(EVA) simulation, making it one of the few such stations
providing isolation from earth-like landscapes and
environmental conditions throughout the whole mission.
The facility simulates and monitors selected space
mission conditions to allow for gathering relevant data.
The station provides researchers with human
telemetry, environment telemetry and mission
architecture data to process and cross-analyse. LunAres
has a research strategy of conducting mission campaigns
having 6 - 10 missions with similar conditions and
scenarios (constants), allowing scientists and experts to
identify and investigate specific factors for analysis.
Having distinguished constants and variables, collecting
statistical data throughout more than one mission is a
unique characteristic of LunAres. The basic variable
during each mission is the crew - having different
participants selected for each mission during one
campaign. The diversity in nationality, gender, age,
personality, the background can affect the crew structure
and therefore the results of the human factors studies. It
is necessary for medical or psychological research to
gather statistical data, therefore multiple missions having
only the crew as the variable is required. LunAres
organized 18 missions until the end of 2021, having 10
of them as part of the scientific Isolation Campaign 2020-
2021 - which had the constant-conditions strategy
included (“Pandemic Isolation Campaign – Lunares
Space,” 2020). Throughout the operation, the station was
visited by over 100 participants from 15 different
countries. The gender parity approach was implemented
within the first mission in 2017. The current ratio of
female / male participants is close to 50/50. Furthermore,
the world's first analog mission simulation involving an
analog parastronaut was conducted in 2017. The research
was well received by the space medicine community and
helped pave the way for further investigations and
programs involving disability in space. As a result,
further research was planned out and additional funding
was obtained.
In this paper, we would like to summarize LunAres
Research Station’s experiences with gender parity and
parastronaut studies as well as share our upcoming plans
and encourage potential research partners to collaborate
in those plans.
2.
Material and methods
Materials and methods for this paper focus
mainly on analysis of data gathered during analog
mission simulations in LunAres Research Station and
analysis of resulting research papers. Based on that we
will present our conclusions and resulting plans for
research and facility development
2.1. Analog mission simulation method
Analog mission simulations were described by
Stephen Hoffman and Stanley G. Love in a second
addendum to NASA Mars Reference Mission 5.0 from
2015 as “...an activity designed to represent specific
scientific, technical, and operational aspects of a future
space mission using actual or functionally representative
systems and operations or procedures under analogous
environmental conditions, for the purpose of
understanding performance and interactions among
these systems and operations or procedures as well as
their ability to achieve mission objectives” (Hoffman &
Love, 2014)
According to Hoffman and Love, the analog
activities possible to conduct on Earth can be
characterised into three types - technology, operation and
science (Figure 1). Analog activities are directly
corresponding with Mission Architecture elements
allowing for investigation of one or more aspects of
potential human exploration missions. According to
NASA SPACE MISSION ARCHITECTURE
FRAMEWORK [NASA SMAF, 2021] there are five
main aspects of Mission Architecture: 1) Science Needs,
Goals and Objectives, 2) Mission System Architecture,
3) Project/ Management, 4) Resources - Current and
Planned, 5) Mission and Project Environment (Figure 2).
Analog Activities can be considered as a part of
current or planned resources that are aimed at answering
questions regarding scientific aspects of Goals and
Objectives, technological requirements of Mission
Systems Architecture and Operational aspects of mission
operations and potential costs. By engaging in analog
activities agencies and researchers are trying to gather
answers required to iterate on future mission
architectures - narrowing down on mission’s scope,
feasibility, costs and requirements. For LunAres
Research Station that means supporting research and
development for partnering institutions interested in
conducting studies using our infrastructure.

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Figure 1 : Analog Activities, source:(Hoffman & Love, 2014)
Figure 2: Mission Architecture Components, source: (NASA,
2021)
2.2. LunAres mission conditions - constants and variables
LunAres resources - infrastructure, operations
and conditions are built of constants, as well as aspects
that can be adjusted to the specific research, and variables
to be studied. Those settings are planned for one mission
or a whole campaign. The constants concern mostly
existing infrastructure and equipment (Table 1). The
functional program of the station is constantly developed,
however, the main functions of the modules stay the
same. The station was designed according to the
guidelines regarding analog activities and space station
design for crewed missions. When it comes to the
duration of the missions, LunAres has a standard mission
length - 2 weeks, which is a result of combining
requirements of researchers with optimal logistics
regarding participants availability and mission budget.
The mission architecture structure has constant
elements occurring in scheduled activities,
communication restrictions and resources limitation.
Such conditions play an important role in the immersion
level (therefore motivation and professionalism) of the
crew and background conditions accuracy and relevance.
The scheduled, constant activities are recreating
simulated mission routines and tasks. The
communication and resources limitation are enhancing
the feeling of isolation and distance from Earth.
Table 1: Example of mission constants at LunAres Research
Station
Constants
Description
functional
program of the
station (ref)
7 modules (Biolab, Kitchen, Dormitory, Operations, Gym,
Workshop, Sanitary, Atrium, Airlock), ~160 m², EVA area
250m²,
mission duration
and structure
2-weeks mission, 1-week training and post-examination,
crew
requirements and
limitations
4-6 people, age and background requirements
basic roles and
responsibilities
Commander, Vice-Commander, Medical Officer,
Communication Officer, Mission Engineer, Media Officer, Biolab
Officer, LSS Officer
Mission scenario -
mode
2-weeks isolation, communication delay or restrictions,
isolation, lunar or martian mission scenario conditions:
lunar mode example:
- day conditions: 24 hours-Earth-like time, lighting
system simulating Earth-like summer northern hemisphere
- communication: no delays, possible personal/work
email contact during designated, no phone calls and direct
messaging
schedule
structure
analog activities and routines (meals, briefings, medical
examination, EVAs, workout, experiment time, personal tasks)
amount of
scheduled EVAs
5-6 (depending on the crew size), 2 day-time EVAs, the rest is
night-time EVA
gathering
LunAres data
LunAres team is gathering the same data during each mission,
which serves as big data for
LunAres
resources
limitation
water, power resources limitation - depend on the scenario
lunar mode example:
- 2500 water litres for the whole mission
- 1 resupply during the mission with limited size and
weight restrictions
- power usage consumption limitation - simulating
solar power conditions
The constants concerning crew structure are the
size, age-range and background requirements. The size of
the crew is based on the NASA space mission concepts
and programs (Drake, 1998) as well as requirements
regarding gathering statistical and big data for long-term
human factor research. Additionally, among the crew
members, there need to be good candidates for the main
roles assigned for the mission. Those roles are based on
the crewed mission scenarios. Additional roles are the
variables that depend on the planned research and
projects. In the case of human factors studies, the amount
and diversity of the subjects are usually essential aspects
in order to gain statistical data.
2.3. Type of research regarding human factors conducted at
LunAres The studies concerning human factors
conducted at LunAres are done in collaboration with

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LunAres long-term partners. Table 2 presents the
constant experiments performed during each mission.
There is a major focus on medical and psychological
studies related to the impact of isolation, simulated
mission conditions and activities (Figure 3). During the
Isolation Campaign 2020-2021, each mission was
following similar mission architecture and scenario in
order to provide the partners with big data gathered from
different crews. The crew selection process during the
Campaign was testing various crews structures in order
to perform statistical analysis at the end of the year. There
were 10 missions planned: 8 with 6 people and 2 with 5
people crew, which results in 52 subjects a year. This
amount is acceptable by the medical and psychological
researchers and really unique among the other
operational analog habitats.
Figure 3: Medical research conducted during Pandemic
Isolation Campaign
Table 2: Example of long-term research conducted at LunAres
Research Station
name of the experiment
PI
L.1. Human Telemetry
LunAres
L.2 Environment Telemetry
LunAres
L.3. Mission data
LunAres
L.4. Emergency studies
LunAres
A.3. Research -the impact of freeze-dried
diet - on physical health
Pomeranian Medical University
A.4. Research on the human motor system
Silesian University of Technology
Group dynamics and productivity in isolation
and analog space missions
University of Silesia in Katowice
B.3.Human-robot interaction study
University of Silesia in Katowice
C.1 Aeroponic Study
LunAres
C.2 Hydroponic Study
LunAres
Data gathered by LunAres is supporting not
only LunAres research on organizational, operational and
collaboration aspects but also serves as a basic database
for research partners. Such a database requires big data
processing system currently being developed and
designed by the station and its collaborators. Data
concerns human telemetry, environment telemetry
(Figure 4) and mission architecture/scenario data. It is
gathered similarly during each mission. Small
improvements in equipment and methods are
implemented after consultation and upon request from
the researchers. Table 3 presents the list of LunAres data.
Figure 4: Environment telemetry data example gathered at
LunAres during the missions
3.
Theory
3.1. Crew characteristics in relation to research conducted at
LunAres LunAres has carried 18 missions since the
establishment in 2017 (Figure 5). Throughout the
operation, the station was visited by around 100
participants from 23 different countries and 4 different
continents (Figure 6). The gender parity approach was
implemented within the first mission in 2017. The current
ratio of female / male participants is 49/50 (Figure 7). The
role of the commander or vice (31 in total) was assigned
to 15 female crew members. Although women in STEM
in the EU in 2021 represent 41% of all researchers and
engineers - the background characteristics of the crew
members were strongly dominated by STEM education
having 47% female representatives. Other backgrounds
such as art, education, business, design are dominated by
female crew members. The average age of the
participants is 30 years, with the age range 21-59 years
old (Figure 8).

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Figure 5: Crews from some archive missions
Figure 6: Nationalities from the LunAres missions
Figure 7: Male / female ration among crew members at
LunAres missions
Those characteristics of the crew, as well as
each of them individually, can be easily compared with
human factors research conducted by the research
partners and LunAres. Due to such diversity among the
crews, the medical and psychological research has
promising statistical data to enable human spaceflight
preparation development towards longer human presence
in space and space flights commercialization.
Analog Activities can be considered as a part of
current or planned resources that are aimed at answering
questions regarding scientific aspects of Goals and
Objectives, technological requirements of Mission
Systems Architecture and Operational aspects of mission
operations and potential costs. By engaging in analog
activities agencies and researchers are trying to gather
answers required to iterate on future mission
architectures - narrowing down on mission’s scope,
feasibility, costs and requirements. For LunAres
Research Station that means supporting research and
development for partnering institutions interested in
conducting studies using our infrastructure.
Figure 8: Age range among LunAres mission crew members
To avoid future waste of data, current crew
dynamics and productivity studies took a more uniform
structure in 2019 with the involvement of researchers
from the Psychological Department of Silesian
University. Current group dynamics research
(Psychological indicators of an effective adaptation to the
analogue space missions) involves a standardized set of
participants filled forms, environmental and personal
telemetry as well as supporting use of CCTV footage
from the habitat’s interior. The current programme was
implemented during 10 analog missions simulations
carried out in a repeating 2-week long Moon mission
scenario with 10 diverse analog crews of 5 to 6
participants. Use of a uniform scenario in a controlled
environment allowed for better data comparison between
isolated groups. Team composition and participants age,
gender, and professional background were the main
changing factors giving hope for well-documented study
results. The findings are planned for a peer-reviewed
scientific paper for the second quarter of 2022.
On the operational level organizers can share
their experience on crew selection and overall
performance of the participants. LunAres Crew selection
indicates a percentage of 46% of female applicants.
Furthermore the female applicants’ selection success rate
is higher than males. Applications sent by male
applicants in 5 to 10 percent are scored as not eligible
suggesting stronger risk taking and opportunity seizing
behaviour. It is in contrast to the 3% female application
failure rate suggesting a more calculated approach in
applying for participation. As for group performance
there were no major gender related issues or misconduct
behaviours reported during the isolation periods. This
could be either due to the well-performed selection
process as well as due to the relatively short duration of
2-week isolation. There were on the other hand changes

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in performance and crew dynamics in the crews with
bigger age differences among participants and in crews
with imbalances in gender representation. Crews with
overrepresentation of any gender had different
performance indicators with more dynamic changes
throughout the isolation as well as reported higher
interpersonal conflicts rate. The gender balanced teams
had more stable performance indicators and reported
fewer interpersonal conflicts.
The crew and environmental telemetry
gathering are one of the main responsibilities of an
analog facility allowing for data comparison. Since 2017
data gathering strategy has been envisioned as an
integrated system incorporated into every analog mission
simulation with data ownership assigned to LunAres
operator. Basic LunAres telemetry allows for minimizing
environmental changes from simulation to simulation.
Such a strategy also ensured easy data sharing with
interested research partners and allowed for identifying
facility and infrastructure development needs.
Coordinating the gathering of additional data required by
research is a responsibility of an involved institution or
researcher with data ownership belonging to those
entities. Examples of using analog mission simulations
inside LunAres Research Station for deep telemetry
gathering are works of a research team from the
University of Warsaw led by dr. Maciej Matraszek,
including two papers: “30 Sensors to Mars: Toward
Distributed Support Systems for Astronauts in Space
Habitats” (Rub et al., 2019) and “Human Nature: The
Subject and the Headache of IoT-Based Sociometric
Studies” (Matraszek, Rub, Konorski, Batorski, &
Iwanicki, 2020).
Medical studies inside LunAres Research
Station are possible due to close collaboration with
Pomeranian Medical University and its bioethical
committee reviewing all human-related experiments
inside the analog facility. Although many researchers
visiting the habitat provide their own relevant paperwork,
such an approach is beneficial for researchers without
such approvals. Medical research conducted in the
facility so far involved stomatological and diet studies on
the impact of freeze-dried meals on saliva production,
dental pluck deposition and bacterial fauna changes in
digestive system. The research was accompanied by
neurocognitivity in isolation studies, MRI scans of the
hippocampus before and after isolation, acoustic studies,
as well as human motor system and stabilography
studies. Studies were carried out by several institutions
under a single ethical committee approval in a span of 10
analog missions simulations. 55 individuals were
subjected to this ongoing research creating a base for
statistical relevant results. First peer-reviewed papers are
planned for the second quarter of 2022. Although studies
were designed with human space exploration in mind, the
recent COVID-19 pandemic allowed for pursuing
additional investigation relevant to public health issues
with isolation. For this purpose the 2021 research
campaign was named Pandemic Isolation Campaign and
was under patronage of the Polish Ministry of Health.
Although mission scenario and crew composition did not
allow for psychological investigation of the effects of
nation-wide lockdowns, the physiological aspects of
isolation during analog mission simulation allowed for
data analysis for this purpose.
3.2. LunAres as the first analog facility to carry a mission
simulation with a person with disabilities
In 2017 ICAres-1 carried out in LunAres
Research Station became the first analog mission
simulation involving a disabled crew member (Figure 1).
The Mission scenario was designed not to research the
feasibility of parastronauts missions. It was an
investigation of a scenario of what would happen to the
mission objectives and crew dynamics during the Mars
mission in case of a serious accident involving one crew
member. For this purpose, an analog astronaut with
engineering background and acquired significant
physical disability was incorporated into the crew. The
disability of the selected individual that was obtained due
to an accident a few years before the mission included:
- total lack of vision
- lack of right hand
- lack of fingers in the left hand excluding an
index finger and a thumb
Figure 9: ICAres-1 crew and mission control. Fot. Anna
Gregorczyk
The simulation execution went according to the
research goals and was met with enthusiastic response
from the researchers community. The research overview
was featured twice during the World Extreme Medicine
Conference in 2017 and 2018. The findings were also
presented in papers: “Addressing Disability In Space:
Icares-1 Mars Analog Mission” (Waśniowski, Perycz,
Dudzińska, & Jarosz, 2018), “Dealing with a physically
disabled crew member: Lessons learned by the crew of
the ICAres-1 mission” (Heinicke, Kaczmarzyk, Perycz,
& Wasniowski, 2018), and in a recent open letter in the

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Science Magazine aiming to start discussions around
ESA Parastronauts Feasibility Study - “ Disability in
space: Aim high” (Heinicke et al., 2021).
4.
Results
4.1. LunAres plans regarding future analog mission
simulations in 2022 and 2023
The past experience in organizing analog
mission simulations allowed for increased involvement
of Polish research institutions in human spaceflight
related activities. In order to continue this trend more
analog simulations were planned for 2022 and 2023. In
2022 8 2-week isolation missions were proposed in order
to continue ongoing research on previously established
mission scenarios with additional 9th simulation testing
the feasibility of a 3-week long isolation study. In 2023
LunAres has planned another 9 missions with 3 of them
being 3-week long isolation studies. The longer analog
mission simulations are envisioned to be a part of a new
parastroanut study.
Crew composition criteria will continue
pursuing gender parity and inclusiveness with more focus
on group dynamics study and updated crew selection
process. For that purpose, LunAres will actively search
for new national and international research partners in
order to better meet international interest in such research
aspects. Such objectives are aimed to increase Polish
involvement in human spaceflight activities, slowly
building momentum for more ambitious projects and
increased spending in that sector.
4.2. LunAres plans regarding environmental and human
telemetry
After analysis of previously gathered data
quality and interviews with participants and users, a new
development strategy was implemented in order to
prioritize development areas for the infrastructure and
services. The results were presented during the online
edition of IAC in 2020 with papers: “LunAres Analog
Research Station - Overview of updated design and
research potential” (Mintus, Orzechowski, et al., 2020)
and “Design of hygiene module using closed greywater
cycle for LunAres Research Station - main assumptions
and applications” (Mintus, Cwilichowska, &
Orzechowski, 2020). Publications focused on pursuing
strategic partnerships and new infrastructure. New
partnerships are crucial for fulfilling LunAres Research
Station scientific potential while infrastructure updates
are necessary for providing the best possible research
environment with fully controlled conditions. Since 2020
some strategic goals have already been achieved. Some
have obtained funding and are planned for
implementation.
4.3. LunAres planned projects in relation to parastronauts
programs
One of the most important achievements is
successful collaboration with municipality of the City of
Piła to obtain EEA and Norwegian Grant. The funding is
for international research collaboration on parastronaut
studies and the creation of an educational center next to
the LunAres Research Station (Figure 10). The centre
could hold a training and mission control centre during
the missions improving the quality of mission operation.
The program is under the patronage of the Polish Space
Agency and is aimed to increase Poland's involvement in
human spaceflight studies.
Figure 10: Education Centre scheme model planned next to the
LunAres Research Station
700k Euro in total was assigned for creating new
infrastructure and organizing analog mission simulations
with the main focus to promote international
collaboration. This budget also includes the creation of a
paradivers centre which allows for diver training for
people with physical disabilities creating more
opportunity for potential research and training (Figure
11).
Figure 11: Paradivers Centre in the city of Piła, source:
Mateusz Chłystun
The educational centre located in the
neighbouring hangar will include multipurpose scientific
classrooms that can be also used by visiting investigators

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and research teams during isolation missions. Also, an
addition of a planetarium will create unique opportunities
for rover teleoperations inside LunAres EVA hangar.
The facilities are aimed to be operational by the end of
2022 in order to support both scientific outreach and
several parastronauts studies (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Education Centre hangar combined with
Planetarium module
The last aspect of the funding are 4 3-week long
analog missions simulations involving an analog
parastronaut. Due to the character of the funding, the
campaign is still open for international researchers and
proposals. Thus research scope and plan will be subjected
for near future determination. While analog mission
simulations budget is not excessively high it allows for
cost-free involvement of analog crews, free data
gathering for interested partners and provision of mission
consumables. At the current stage, the LunAres operator
is searching for potential research collaborators that will
help narrow down mission scenarios and research goals
hopefully in such a way to be complementary to other
international programs for the mutual benefit of
parastronauts feasibility studies.
5. Discussion
All aforementioned activities are Poland's very first steps
in the human spaceflight national efforts. Although they
are still modest the involvement and scope increase with
each passing year slowly getting traction and achieving
set goals. LunAres Research Station hopes to be an
integrator of Polish institutional efforts promoting
synergy in research and international partnerships
through the use of its analog infrastructure.
Polish institutions involved in the aforementioned studies
are expected to share their findings in the near future. The
expectation is that the results will be of value to European
and international human spaceflight programs. Such a
result could aid the development of Polish human
spaceflight efforts thus expanding the European human
spaceflight community.
While a lot of expert knowledge regarding various
aspects of human spaceflight research is still to be
obtained by the Polish side, the current involvement and
infrastructure is enough to establish scientific relations
with more experienced partners. Also, the plan to
investigate parastronauts related topics is a good
opportunity for a joint effort with ESAs feasibility
studies.
6. Conclusions
The human spaceflight sector is gaining more
diversity among mission and flights crew members. The
need for investigating diverse crew structures and
characteristics becomes essential for spaceflight
commercialization and extending human presence in
space. LunAres Research Station is currently focusing
mainly on human factors research coordination and
development to support such studies.
LunAres crew selection strategy supports
statistical human data gathering for medical and
psychological experiments. The gender parity approach,
international crews selection and various backgrounds
among participants increase scenarios simulation
possibilities.
The scenarios investigating group dynamics are
often simulating extreme conditions of a mission.
LunAres was the first analog facility to perform a mission
with a disabled person on board in order to study crew’s
state and operation in case of an accident scenario
happening in space.
The continuation of this mission is the
parastronaut analog missions project realized in
collaboration with the city of Piła as part of the
Norwegian Grant program. LunAres is seeking research
partners and crew candidates for this unique study.
Acknowledgements
LunAres Operators would like to express appreciation for
research coordination support towards main long-term
partners: Pomeranian Medical University LunAres team,
Silesian University – Psychology Department, Silesian
University of Technology.
Special thanks for all analog missions crews, especially
Pandemic Isolation teams, who played an important role
in LunAres operation development and research strategy
testing: PANDA, Orpheus, HECATE, Hyperion,
Sensoria 4, Sensoria 5, Eirene, VERNE.
LunAres team is extremely honoured to start
collaboration with the city of Piła and other partners
involved in the Norwegian Grant for education centre and
parastronaut mission simulations.

72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25-29 October 2021.
Copyright ©2021 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.
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Appendix A
Table 3: LunAres Data gathered during each mission. The data base available for research partners
LunAres data type
Description
Heart Rate Tracking
Astronauts wear a smart watch during the whole mission. Except for showering and when it’s being charged. The charging
time is the same daytime for every crew member. The heartrate can be measure only with exercise mode settings and a
single checks during a day (not a constant graph). The sleep cycle shows the amount and duration of deep sleep phases, light
sleep phases, the duration of the whole sleep, being awake. The data is presented in forms of daily and weekly graphs.
Sleep cycle recording
physical exercise registering
The smart watch can be set to exercise mode when the astronaut uses treadmill. It can measure steps, distance, time and
heart rate.
body temperature
Medical checking of astronauts is a routine performance during the mission, mostly to screen effects of isolation on basic
physiological parameters using commercial iHealth non-invasive measuring devices. Every day in the morning, before and
after EVA, astronauts are going to be monitored by flight surgeon: body temperature, blood pressure and pulse will be saved
in the operational system. Flight surgeon is responsible for correct measurements and data collection. Data will be coded and
sent for further data processing to mission scientists.
Blood pressure
Pulse and blood saturation
Weight change monitoring
Water intake
ailments and symptoms monitoring
Diet
Each astronaut has a prepared freeze-dried food diet plan for every meal. The foodbags have information about calories,
weight, ingredients. The astronauts during the meal, report the information regarding eaten food, time of the meal, water
intake. Detailed tables and graphs can be extracted from this data.
Interior Temperature
MultiSensor 6 (AEOTEC) is placed in each module to gather various data. LunAres OS is designed for the LunAres Station
and can be available for the astronauts if requested. The LunAres OS central can be available through the station server only.
Read more about the sensors in the Infrastructure Manual. Data not gathered during each mission - the demand for the data
needs to be determined before a mission to make the gathering possible.
Interior luminescence
Humidity
UV level
Vibrant and motion monitoring
Energy usage
Emergency sensor – flood, smoke, door/window
opening
There are specific sensors and alarms located in the required locations to report about an emergency or issue with the
infrastructure. Any events will be visible in the mission data to relate to in case of an impact on a research
video documentation
The station is equipped with multiple cameras, which record when any movement is observed. The recording doesn’t include
audio.
To receive the video feet - the files need to go through a system protecting personal image of the astronauts. The researchers
can request video from the whole station, one module, one day, specific exercise. Depending on the amount of time, weight
and type of video, the price is determined. Video data can be analysed by a commercial partner of LunAres to gain basic facial
emotions recognitions, crew interaction analysis, crew movement analysis. The video is HD resolution.
clean water usage
Before each equipment connected to water installation, there is a water consumption meter. Each day, one designated AA is
asked to check and note the data. The data is gathered in the resources data system and can be easily compared with other
missions and other data types.
grey water usage
Grey water is stored in two containers where AA should check the level of it every day. The data is logged in the resources
data system. Information about the usage strategy can be observed with such data.
lighting schedule
Each module is equipped with LED lightning, which can simulated day-time and therefore stimulate astronauts with artificial
light. The characteristics of light, that can be controlled are: saturation, color, brightness.
The lighting system is set with a wlightBox App by blebox. See the details here.
CO2 levels
sensor located in the dormitory module. Alarms the crew in case of too high CO2 level in the container.
crew characteristics
information includes: crew members, education, titles, age, nationality, experience, motivation. Data is gathered via the
application form and further interview with participants. Information is published on the website and social media before a
mission. Later, available in the mission report
Mission objectives
What are the main scientific (or non-scientific) objectives of a mission. Some of the main objectives are public, however each
mission might have additional goals depending on collaborations, crew members and LunAres plans.
Mission scenario
What are the main conditions mission is simulating, such as mode (lunar, martian, other), day -time length, type of isolation
(total, semi - visitors allowed). The detailed version of the mission scenario includes settings for lighting schedule, crew
activities, EVA scenarios, planned emergencies. The scenario is used for crew immersion in the mission mood. The general
scenario is used for media outreach.
Daily reports from the briefings with the
Commanders
How was the productivity and morale of the crew, from the crew perspective. Any daily issues are reported by the
Commanders daily and consulted with the MC during briefings.

72nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25-29 October 2021.
Copyright ©2021 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.
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