Effects of Communication Lag in Long Duration Space Flight Missions

Abstract

As humanity aims to travel to Mars in the next two decades, it will be faced with numerous issues related to the coupling of humans and technology. Specifically, the communication lag of up to 40 minutes between long duration space flight (LDSF) crews and mission control back on earth will lead to unknown effects on teamwork and the multi-team system through the degraded quality of communication. This paper will review research on virtual teamwork and unmanned systems as it relates to communication, specifically with implications for extended communication delays and lag that may occur in LDSF missions.