Abstract: Human spaceflight over the past 60 years has been remarkably safe. This has been largely due to the fact that support from Earth, in the form of near-real-time communication, resupply, and evacuation options, has been a successful countermeasure to the significant hazards associated with in-space operations. Longer duration missions to the Lunar surface, and then to Mars, will quickly break this approach, requiring a paradigm shift in terms of on-board, in-mission capabilities for increased Earth-independence.

Bio: Dr. Alonso Vera is Chief of the Human Systems Integration Division at NASA Ames Research Center. He has worked at NASA for over 20 years and has served as Division Chief since 2010. Dr. Vera has cross-disciplinary expertise 
in human performance, human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence. He has led the development and deployment of software systems across NASA robotic and human space flight missions including Mars Exploration Rovers, Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars Science Laboratory, Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Exploration Systems. Dr. Vera received a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He went on to a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

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This event is cosponsored with the Organizational Teams and Technology Research Society (OTTRS). Read more about this research group at https://ottrs.ischool.umd.edu.