Designing for Human Operations on the Moon: Challenges and Opportunities of Navigational HUD Interfaces

TL;DR

This study tackles the problem of navigating the Moon's challenging surface by evaluating four HUD concepts within a high-fidelity VR lunar analogue using a Human Systems Exploration framework. Employing a 64 km^2 Shackleton Crater environment, expert participants compared suit-mounted tablet, wearable minimap, spatial AR pathway, and global orientation HUDs, measuring presence, workload, usability, route deviation, and completion time. The results indicate HUD-based interfaces, particularly spatial AR cues, can reduce workload and improve navigation performance compared with traditional tablet maps, while also highlighting risks of information overload and the need for autonomy and explainability. The work offers design guidelines for lunar HUDs and demonstrates the viability of VR-based simulated analogues as a rapid, inclusive tool to shape human–machine interfaces for future lunar missions.

Abstract

Future crewed missions to the Moon will face significant environmental and operational challenges, posing risks to the safety and performance of astronauts navigating its inhospitable surface. Whilst head-up displays (HUDs) have proven effective in providing intuitive navigational support on Earth, the design of novel human-spaceflight solutions typically relies on costly and time-consuming analogue deployments, leaving the potential use of lunar HUDs largely under-explored. This paper explores an alternative approach by simulating navigational HUD concepts in a high-fidelity Virtual Reality (VR) representation of the lunar environment. In evaluating these concepts with astronauts and other aerospace experts (n=25), our mixed methods study demonstrates the efficacy of simulated analogues in facilitating rapid design assessments of early-stage HUD solutions. We illustrate this by elaborating key design challenges and guidelines for future lunar HUDs. In reflecting on the limitations of our approach, we propose directions for future design exploration of human-machine interfaces for the Moon.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: Astronaut Edgar Mitchell using a paper traverse map to navigate on the lunar surface during Apollo 14 (left). Astronaut Charles Duke on the edge of the Plum Crater (middle). Buzz Aldrin egressing the lunar lander during Apollo 11 (right). The pictures underscore the difficult terrain and lighting conditions that astronauts need to face during EVAs on the lunar surface, such as pitch-black shadows and blinding sunlight. Credit: NASA.
• Figure 2: Screenshot of the virtual environment that was utilized during the study, displaying accurate lighting reflections and shadows.
• Figure 3: Screenshots of the distinct navigational interface conditions featured in the study.
• Figure 4: Three conceptual sketches for HUD layouts, strategically positioning informational elements at the upper region of the HUD interface. This design choice is predicated on the absence of mission-critical visual cues in the lunar sky, thereby maximizing the utility of this visual space. Conversely, the lower field of view is deliberately left unobstructed to facilitate unimpeded visibility of the lunar terrain, thereby aiding astronauts in the identification and avoidance of potential navigational obstacles or interesting geological samples.
• Figure 5: NASA TLX Raw Scores: Mean (M), Standard Deviation (SD), and significance levels for pairwise comparisons across experimental conditions.