Project FUSION: Facilitating Unified Systems of Interdependent Organizational Networks 

As we set our sights on Mars, and other destinations beyond lower Earth orbit, we must enable coordinated teamwork across Spaceflight Multi-Team Systems (SFMTSs) comprised of teams that are separated by unprecedented degrees of space and time. In Project FUSION (Facilitating Unified Systems of Interdependent Organizational Networks), our team is developing a comprehensive countermeasure toolkit to help facilitate SFMTS coordination and performance for the next frontier of space exploration. 

Project FUSION is a multi-pronged, multi-method, interdisciplinary effort with three research foci: 

1. Field investigations involving archival analysis of documents and interviews and observations involving NASA personnel

2. Development of agent-based models (ABMs) capturing the drivers of psychological relationships in SFMTS contexts

3. Controlled experiments in laboratory and analog environments 

This NASA funded research effort was a joint collaboration with University of Central Florida's Dr. Shawn Burke, PI. We conducted three major research efforts with this project, including a lab study utilizing a computer simulation game to examine the effects of autonomy and distribution on leadership structure; a qualitative study of high risk teams (e.g., exploration teams, mountain climbing expeditions, astronaut crews, boat racing teams) in order to assess critical leadership behaviors in these types of environments; and a field study using a NASA created testbed to assess leadership structure issues in a simulated NASA mission.