---
title: "Astronaut training"
chunk: 6/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut_training"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:47:09.906443+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Advantages of virtual reality training ===
Visual reorientation is a phenomenon that happens when the perception of an object changes because of the changing visual field and cues. This illusion will alter the astronaut's perception of the orienting force of gravity and then lose spatial direction. The astronauts must develop good spatial awareness and orientation to overcome visual reorientation. In the traditional disorientation training, for instance, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center trains the astronaut by simulating a microgravity environment through a centrifuge. In contrast, VR training requires less gear, training the astronauts more economically.
Virtual reality training utilizes the mix-realistic interaction devices, such as cockpits in flight simulators can reduce the simulation sickness and increase user movement. Compared to traditional training, VR training performs better to minimize the effects of space motion sickness and spatial disorientation. Astronauts who received VR training can perform the task 12% faster, with a 53% decrease in nausea symptoms.
While VR is used in astronaut training on the ground, immersive technology also contributes to on-orbit training. VR head-mounted display can help the astronaut maintain physical well-being as part of proficiency maintenance training. Moreover, VR systems are used to ensure the mental health of the crewmembers. The simulations of social scenarios can mitigate the stress and establish the connectedness under the isolated and confined environment (ICE).
Virtual reality acclimates astronauts to environments in space such as the International Space Station before leaving earth. While astronauts can familiarize themselves with the ISS during training in the NBL, they are only able to see certain sections of the station. While it prepares astronauts for the tasks they are performing in space, it does not necessarily give them a full spatial understanding of the station's layout. That's where Virtual Reality plays an important role. The Virtual Reality Lab uses a system known as the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics program (DOUG) to model the ISS's exterior including decals, fluid lines, and electrical lines, so that the crew can acclimate to their new environment. The level of detail goes beyond the exterior of the station. When a user enters space, they see pure black until their pupil's dilate and the sky fills with stars in an occurrence called the 'blooming effect'.

=== Disadvantages of virtual reality training ===
While virtual reality prepares astronauts for the unfamiliar tasks they will face in outer space, the training is unable to replicate the psychological and emotional stress that astronauts face on a daily basis. This is because virtual tasks do not hold the same repercussions as the real task and the technology does not produce strong psychological effects, like claustrophobia, that often occurs in enclosed environments.
Stimulating a virtual microgravity environment can be costly due to additional equipment requirements. Unlike commercialized virtual reality, the equipment that NASA uses cannot be produced at a large scale because the systems require supplemental technology. Several VR programs work in combination with the Neutral Buoyancy Lab or the Charlotte Robot in the Virtual Reality Lab which requires expensive facilities and does not eliminate the travel component that VR can minimize. NASA's Charlotte robot is restricted by cables that simulate the microgravity environment and the Virtual Reality Lab only has two machines in their possession. This particular training system requires a virtual glovebox system (GVX) that has been incorporated into training at NASA and the EVA virtual system at the Astronaut Center of China. Using sensors embedded in the fabric, the gloves can sense when the wearer decides to grasp an object or release it, but the technology needs to be further developed to integrate precise user movements into virtual programs. These gloves have been reported to be uncomfortable and only capture limited movements. Full-body motion sensors have also been incorporated into training and tend to be expensive but necessary in order to have effective tactile feedback in response to the astronauts' movements. While virtual reality programs have been developed that do not require full-body sensors, the absence reduces the degree to which a user can interact with the virtual world.

=== Future ===
The primary focus of future research on virtual reality technologies in space exploration is to develop a method of simulating a microgravity environment. Although it has been a goal since the beginning of VR being used in astronaut training, minor progress has been made. The current setup uses a bungee rope attached to a person's feet, a swing attached to the body, and finally a head mounted VR display. However, from participants in experiments that use this setup to simulate reduced gravity environments, they only experience the feel of moving around in space with the help of VR, but the experience does not resemble a real zero-gravity environment in outer space. Specifically, the pressure from the bungee rope and the swing because of the participants' own weight creates an unreal and unpleasant feeling. The current technology may be enough for the general public to experience what moving around in space is like, but it is still far from being formally used as an astronaut training tool.
These efforts of simulating micro-gravity serve a similar purpose of creating an increasingly immersive environment for astronaut training.

== See also ==
Effect of spaceflight on the human body
Human analog missions
Human spaceflight
Apollo program training
Mercury Seven
NASA Astronaut Corps
Space medicine
The Astronaut Monument

== References ==

== Further reading ==

== External links ==

NASA Astronauts
CSA Astronauts
ESA Astronauts
JAXA Astronauts
Roscosmos. Archived 2012-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
List of experiments in International Space Station
CNSA Manned Spaceflight
ISRO Human Spaceflight
NASA: How to become an astronaut 101
Train Like An Astronaut