Human-Rating for Automated and Robotic Systems

Long duration human space exploration demands unprecedented levels of automation, to carry the load of vehicle management for the new explorers, and assist their exploration work with new capability. Automated and robotic systems are probably sophisticated and sturdy enough to do this work -- but such systems have never been human-rated like all other NASA systems used in human space flight. We present here a perspective on architecture and requirements for the interfaces and interactions between human explorers and their array of automated systems; and we present a necessary approach to human-rate the systems for the space program: for surface operations as well as for in-flight monitoring and control. We continue to hope this topic will be an invitation to dialog and to consideration of a difficult issue that will face new generations of explorers and their supporters back on Earth.