Cognitive performance and psychological wellbeing in hybrid human-robot crews in space analog missions: The delayed unwinding paradox

Abstract

Background The integration of UAVs and AI assistants into human exploration teams introduces both operational benefits and novel psychophysiological demands. As planetary exploration missions increasingly rely on human-robot collaboration, understanding the cognitive and psychological consequences of hybrid operational work becomes a critical priority for crew health and mission success. This study examines cognitive performance and psychological wellbeing in a Hybrid Team (n = 6) during a multi-day cave analog mission, comparing results against a pooled Non-Hybrid Teams dataset (N = 45; 8 missions). Methods NASA TLX (Task Load Index), WinSCAT cognitive assessment (pre, mid, post-mission), DASS-21, and POMS were administered at Astroland Ares Station (Cantabria, Spain). Mission operations incorporated UAV systems and simulated 7-min one-way Mars communication delays with Mission Control. Between-group comparisons used Mann-Whitney U tests; within-group longitudinal changes used Wilcoxon signed-rank and Friedman tests. Results The Hybrid Team showed significantly higher pre-mission sustained attention (CPT: 95.9 ± 1.4% vs 81.7 ± 18.4%; U = 200, p = .010, r = 0.67) and stable cognitive performance across all WinSCAT subtests. Non-Hybrid Teams showed significant CPT improvement over time (χ2 = 12.47, p = .002). Post-mission tension was significantly elevated in the Hybrid Team vs Non-Hybrid Teams (39.7 vs 32.4; p = .005) despite Non-Hybrid Teams showing significant tension reduction (p < .001). Fatigue increased in the Hybrid Team post-mission (W = 1, p = .094) while decreasing in Non-Hybrid Teams (p = .013). Conclusions Hybrid Team integration preserves cognitive performance but produced a post-mission unwinding failure pattern characterized by sustained activation that prevented emotional deactivation. Implications for recovery protocols and hybrid mission design are discussed.