Crewmember performance before, during, and after spaceflight.
Two-minute computer checks can track behavior anywhere without hurting the main activity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
NASA doctors gave astronauts short computer quizzes before, during, and after space missions.
The quizzes took only minutes and ran on the same laptop the crew already used for work.
They wanted to see if mental sharpness stayed steady while living in zero gravity.
What they found
Scores on two key tasks and mood ratings barely budged across the whole timeline.
Performance stayed flat, so the mini-tests proved they could watch astronaut behavior without hurting the mission.
How this fits with other research
Schertz et al. (2016) showed the same kind of repeat-testing works for adults with Down syndrome, giving clinicians confidence in brief fitness checks.
Turk et al. (2010) found IQ scores over video call match in-person results, backing the idea that unusual delivery still gives valid data.
Baker et al. (2005) counted only 15 rigorous sport studies in 30 years, highlighting how rare clean performance data is under extreme stress; the astronaut paper helps fill that gap.
Why it matters
You can borrow the NASA model for clients who move between settings. Pick one quick tablet task and run it each visit. If scores stay flat, you know day-to-day noise is low and real learning is happening. If they dip, you catch problems early without long assessments.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The development of technologies for monitoring the welfare of crewmembers is a critical requirement for extended spaceflight. Behavior analytic methodologies provide a framework for studying the performance of individuals and groups, and brief computerized tests have been used successfully to examine the impairing effects of sleep, drug, and nutrition manipulations on human behavior. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility and sensitivity of repeated performance testing during spaceflight. Four National Aeronautics and Space Administration crewmembers were trained to complete computerized questionnaires and performance tasks at repeated regular intervals before and after a 10-day shuttle mission and at times that interfered minimally with other mission activities during spaceflight. Two types of performance, Digit-Symbol Substitution trial completion rates and response times during the most complex Number Recognition trials, were altered slightly during spaceflight. All other dimensions of the performance tasks remained essentially unchanged over the course of the study. Verbal ratings of Fatigue increased slightly during spaceflight and decreased during the postflight test sessions. Arousal ratings increased during spaceflight and decreased postflight. No other consistent changes in rating-scale measures were observed over the course of the study. Crewmembers completed all mission requirements in an efficient manner with no indication of clinically significant behavioral impairment during the 10-day spaceflight. These results support the feasibility and utility of computerized task performances and questionnaire rating scales for repeated measurement of behavior during spaceflight.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 2005 · doi:10.1901/jeab.2005.77-04