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  • Space-grounded: Developing an antidepressant inhalation device using natural materials to enhance crew well-being

Lee, Chang Hee, Balint, Tibor, Ram Chim, Bo, Kumar, Manoj, Lee, Yoonji, Cho, Haena, Sun, Yuqian, Sommer, Bjorn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1514-9898, Galdon, Fernando and Asadipour, Ali, 2023, Conference or Workshop, Space-grounded: Developing an antidepressant inhalation device using natural materials to enhance crew well-being at SpaceCHI 3.0 A Conference on Human-Computer Interaction for Space Exploration, Boston, USA, 22-23 Jun 2023.

Abstract or Description:

The journey to Mars is the next possible space venture for human space explorers after the Earth-Moon system. The psychological health of the crew may be impacted by spending roughly 1000 days in a confined habitat. To address this, tools and devices must be developed to improve the crew’s health by addressing their higher-level needs beyond basic physiological and psychological needs. In this context, we present a portable and natural antidepressant inhaler device that takes into consideration human factors. The device creates a chemical called geosmin from dry soil to generate petrichor. Inhaling petrichor may help treat depression by increasing specific brain chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine. We describe the steps we took in implementing natural material - soil - in our design process, including the ideation, developing the device, and a preliminary usability testing, to explore the potential of utilizing natural materials for space well-being.

Subjects: Other > Engineering > H400 Aerospace Engineering > H420 Astronautical Engineering
Creative Arts and Design > W200 Design studies > W240 Industrial/Product Design
School or Centre: Research Centres > Computer Science Research Centre
School of Design
Uncontrolled Keywords: Petrichor; Antidepressant; Deep Space; Human-Factors
Date Deposited: 30 Jun 2023 16:04
Last Modified: 05 Jul 2023 09:06
URI: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/5439
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