I’ve decided to redesign the Project Mercury capsule’s controls and instrumentation as if it were being built today. My primary goals are to:

• Maximize crew safety
• Maximize ease of use
• Minimize cognitive load (but not through automation alone)

For the record, I’m not an astronaut, nor do I know any astronauts, so true usability testing is right out. Design qualification will be based on feedback and intuition. Hopefully, I’m able to cobble together enough C++ or Javascript to devise some tests to determine, say, the most legible typeface or best panel color. Otherwise, I’ll rely on any studies I’m able to get my hands on.

My current work is almost entirely devoid of human factors and ergonomics (it’s about half function, half styling). I haven’t done a project like this since I was in school. I know this is a self-imposed project, but I’m pretty excited to be back in the saddle again doing what amounts to a student project. Maybe, once my wife is done with her Master’s degree, I can use this as part of my app to grad school in HF+E at Stanford or CSULB. Who knows?

So, the first thing I’m going to do is read NASA’s Project Mercury Familiarization Manual from 1962 (Aurora 7) to get to know the various systems, controls and instrumentation. From there, I’m going to break down this project into phases and then start designing.

In the words of Alan Shepard “Let’s light this candle!”