Human-Centered Design of Next-Generation Telemetry Displays for NASA’s Moon and Mars Exploration Missions

NASA’s upcoming Artemis lunar surface missions will significantly increase telemetry volume and operational demands for Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) operations team in NASA’s Mission Control Center (MCC). These missions require telemetry displays that more effectively support real-time monitoring, situational awareness, and decision making than existing International Space Station (ISS) systems, which were not designed for sustained lunar surface operations or the expanded telemetry demands of modern exploration architectures. The objective of this paper is to identify human-centered design requirements for next-generation Artemis EVA telemetry displays that can be implemented within existing mission control constraints. The study integrates human factors principles from high-risk operational domains with qualitative feedback (N=10) from flight controllers, flight instructors and backroom regarding current display strengths, limitations and desired capabilities. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring usability challenges and operational needs. The results reveal key limitations of current telemetry displays, including dense text-based layouts, limited data correlation, non-intuitive navigation, and high training burden. In response, this paper defines a set of actionable design requirements emphasizing layered information hierarchies, synoptic schematic displays, contextual filtering, multimodal alerting, intuitive navigation, and selective automation. These findings provide practical, near-term guidance for developing Artemis EVA telemetry displays that function as cognitive support tools rather than passive data repositories, reducing controller workload and enhancing situational awareness to support safe and effective lunar surface operations.