Fly Me to the Moon: Family Conferencing With Communication Delays on Lunar Missions

Background: Current astronauts on the International Space Station have scheduled time to connect with their families via virtual audio and video private family conferences (PFCs). However, one-way communication delays expected to range from 4 to 12 seconds during lunar missions represent a significant paradigm shift for PFCs which have thus far operated with real-time communication. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of lunar communication delays on the expected benefits of PFCs in astronaut-like participants and their families. Methods: Thirty-five primary participants were recruited to approximate astronaut demographics at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They were asked to identify a family member living outside of Houston to join as their study partner. Each study pair participated in six weekly virtual audiovisual PFC sessions conducted under 0, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 second one-way delays. Relationship and individual well-being outcomes were assessed before and after each PFC. Communication quality was assessed after each PFC in reference to the delay implemented. Linear mixed models with planned contrasts examined the impact of each PFC on relationship, individual well-being, and communication quality. Results: PFCs improved relationship outcomes relative to baseline regardless of the delay. Compared to PFCs with no delays, greater decrements to relationships and individual well-being were observed after PFCs with 8 second one-way delays or longer. Participants also indicated all delay latencies significantly reduced their communication quality and would impact their relationships if they were required to continue communicating under those conditions for six months. Conclusion: PFCs benefit long distance relationships among astronaut-like families. While participants generally tolerated shorter communication delays in this time limited laboratory setting, our results suggest that PFCs with communication delays, especially 8 seconds or longer, may not be sufficient to maintain family bonds in future long duration lunar missions. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining access to family and friends during spaceflight and provide a foundation from which innovative solutions can be crafted to preserve connections despite obstacles to communication.