Investigating the Impact of Communication Delay on Mission Control as an Effective Team Member with the Crew

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aims to send humans to Mars in the coming decade. However, the significant communication delay of up to 22 minutes one way poses challenges for Mission Control (MC) in fulfilling its role as an effective team member with the crew, potentially jeopardizing mission safety and success. Existing research on communication delay has primarily focused on the crew, neglecting the impact on MC. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of communication delay on MC’s role as a team member and proposes a protocol to improve communication between MC and the crew. To analyze the impact of communication delay, data from high-fidelity analog studies and the International Space Station (ISS) were examined. These studies covered scenarios with delays ranging from seconds to 20 minutes, communication blackouts, and mission durations up to 520 days. Tasks of varying complexity were evaluated to assess MC’s ability to support the crew. Additionally, existing protocols were evaluated using subjective ratings and compliance analysis. The analysis indicated that communication delay significantly impairs MC’s effectiveness as a team member, evidenced by common challenges identified in the studies. These challenges include difficulty for MC in understanding the crew’s needs and maintaining situational awareness due to communication breakdowns. As a result, MC faced challenges in providing consistent and accurate support to the crew. The delayed recovery from these challenges led to reduced reliance on MC by the crew, as their role was not always seen as the most efficient option for seeking support. In response, a new protocol focusing on tone was developed to establish effective and respectful communication between MC and the crew, to mitigate the effects of these identified challenges. Furthermore, two key recommendations emerge from the analysis: ensuring time delay consistency and standardizing communication delay implementation. These recommendations aim to optimize the effectiveness of protocols and provide a better understanding of their impact in addressing communication delay. Understanding the impact of communication delay on both MC and the crew is vital for developing protocols that enhance effective communication and teamwork during the mission. These findings contribute to optimizing protocols for future studies and preparing for the Mars mission.