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Understanding the factors influencing crew performance under conditions of long-term isolation, confinement, high workload and elevated risk is an important prerequisite to the manned space exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit that are planned under the new National Space Policy of the United States. Quantitatively tracking the performance of crews affected by those stressors is therefore crucial both during actual space missions and as part of precursor activities on the ground, such as those taking place at planetary-analog simulation facilities. During the summer of 2003, an experiment was carried out tracking the cognitive performance of the crew on board such a facility, the Mars Society’s “Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station” in the Canadian High Arctic. In addition to the self-administered computer-based testing, the crew’s daily activities were logged to enable the identification of external factors that might affect the observed performance.

Sustained crew performance under conditions of isolation, confinement and increased risk is a key contributor to the success of manned space exploration missions. Measuring crew performance and identifying the factors affecting it is therefore crucial both during actual space missions and as part of precursor activities on the ground. Planetary analog bases play an important role in this context. These integrated simulation facilities allow the operational, hardware, and human side of all mission-related elements to be combined, and thus permit the capturing of interactions among these elements. The crew on board such a station is exposed to stressors and other conditions similar to those encountered during space missions. Planetary analog bases therefore represent a valuable resource for better understanding the dynamics of crew performance.

Crew members flying llong duration spaceflight missions report highly individualized responses in their ability to remember tasks and to recall information. Operations aboard Space Station Mir demonstrated that over the course of a mission, toxic exposures were possible during contigencies. This clearly indicated the need for some form of objective cognitive assessment to ensure crew safety. The Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool (S-CAT) was created under the guidance of the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Behavioral Health and Performance program. The purpose of the S-CAT is to provide an objective measure of cognitive function for crew members and their flight surgeons during space missions. This paper describes the development and the components of the S-CAT.