ECRO - the European Society for Smell and Taste Research - will hold its annual conference in Paris this year. This year’s theme is chemosensory innovation, with a focus on building connections across disciplines, sensory modalities, and creative approaches.

Caroline McMillan, Ph.D. of WTSA’s Space Sensory Lab will present our research at poster session S5-P18 (Abstract page 192)

==================================================

Olfactory experience and behavioural processing as a human factors frontier in spaceflight.

Human factors research overlooks the dimensions of olfactory experience and behavioural processing in spaceflight. In microgravity, the perception of smell changes dramatically. Bodily fluids accumulate in the cranial and nasal cavity, constrict the nasal passages, and reduce olfactory sensitivity. Additionally, astronauts contend with stinky matters, carrying out inevitable needs in confined, shared environments with minimal privacy: vomiting, menstruation, and waste. The result is an environment characterised by sensory monotony, persistent odours, olfactory fatigue, and altered perception. Our approach systematically reviews the literature to identify gaps in the understanding of olfactory experience in spaceflight. We validate this with expert accounts across aerospace medicine, life-support engineering, astronaut training, and human factors research. Design recommendations are grounded in astronauts' lived experience. Olfactory stimuli in confined spacecraft contribute to psychosocial distress. We examine how sensory perception and olfactory processing inform novel solutions for health and comfort in orbit, with the human operator at the centre of mission-critical design. Promising interventions include aromatherapeutic, transdermal, and inhalation systems for alleviating nausea; odour-sequestering containment products; and smart garments with e-textile sensors. Multisensory technology systems and olfactory perception training offer scalable tools for resilience. The changes to the olfactory system in reduced gravity represent a critical frontier in spaceflight human factors research. Beyond containment engineering, the multidisciplinary integration of sensory design, technology development, and materials science is essential to address adaptation, fatigue, and psychosocial tolerance and advance human well-being beyond Earth. 

ECRO XXXVI