Characterizing cognitive workload during simulated surface extravehicular activity with integrated virtual reality

Introduction: High cognitive workload presents an important risk to crew safety during surface exploration extravehicular activity (EVA). However, it remains difficult to draw conclusions about the precise EVA task characteristics that are associated with increases in cognitive workload, or their relationship to performance. Methods: In the present study, we examined how experimentally manipulating cognitive workload during a surface EVA task was related to subjective cognitive workload assessments, physiological responding, and EVA performance outcomes. Participants (N = 14) completed surface EVA simulations using a virtual reality and integrated treadmill setup in an extended reality exploration surface analog. Results: Experimentally manipulating the difficulty of geological sample identification was associated with increased subjective cognitive workload, decreased cognitive performance, altered physiological responding, and decreased performance on key EVA tasks. Results demonstrate evidence for a relationship between the cognitive demands of a surface EVA task and the subjective and physiological correlates of cognitive workload and cognitive performance, as well as decrements in EVA task performance due to increased cognitive demand. Discussion: Cognitive workload during surface exploration EVA may be an important consideration for EVA scheduling and monitoring during critical mission tasks on the Moon and Mars.