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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.05.25.493475

Astronauts Gaze Behavior in Visual Target Acquisition during Space Shuttle Flights

Kolev, O. I.·Reschke, M. F.·Clement, G. R.
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Abstract

We explored how weightlessness during space flight altered the astronauts gaze behavior with respect to flight day and target eccentricity. Thirty-four astronauts of 20 Space Shuttle missions had to acquire visual targets with angular offsets of 20{degrees}, 30{degrees}, and 49{degrees}. Measurements of eye, head, and gaze positions collected before and during flight days 1 to 15 indicated changes during target acquisition that varied as a function of flight days and target eccentricity. The in-flight changes in gaze behavior were presumably the result of a combination of several factors, including a transfer from allocentric to egocentric reference for spatial orientation in absence of a gravitational reference, the generation of slower head movements to prevent space motion sickness, and a decrease in smooth pursuit and vestibulo-ocular reflex performance. These results confirm that humans have several strategies for gaze behavior, between which they switch depending on the environmental conditions.

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Kolev, O. I., Reschke, M. F., Clement, G. R.. 2022-05-26. Astronauts Gaze Behavior in Visual Target Acquisition during Space Shuttle Flights. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.25.493475

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