Supporting complex astronaut tasks: the right advice at the right time

A challenge for future human planetary exploration missions will be to empower the astronauts with sufficient cognitive support so that they can make decisions in much more autonomous fashion than in current missions. Future astronauts will be told the goal they need to realize; they have to work out for themselves how to realize these goals. This paper describes a planning-based system that, based on an accurate assessment of the current state, is able to support the astronaut in realizing the mission goals. As for the realization of the mission goals the use of complex equipment is crucial, the support includes also the operation of such systems.