UX, but on Mars: Exploring User Experience in Extreme Environments with Insights from a Mars Analog Mission

Isolated, Confined, and Extreme (ICE) environments, such as those encountered in space missions, deep-sea explorations, and polar expeditions, pose unique physical and psychological challenges that influence user interaction with computer systems and have been significantly less explored compared to conventional environments. In this paper, we report empirical results from two experiments involving two crews of six analog astronauts each and two interactive systems with graphical and haptic user interfaces, conducted in both a conventional Earth environment and a Mars analog setting at the Mars Desert Research Station. We examine how extreme conditions affect UX and we provide implications for interaction design addressing ICE environments through adaptation, automation, and assistance-resistance mechanisms.