Using a simulated environment to investigate experiences reported during space travel Shaun Gallagher, Lauren Reinerman-Jones, Brandon Sollins and Bruce Janz Preprint. Please cite original article Theoretical Issues in Ergonomic Sciences 15(4): 376-394. (DOI: 10.1080/1463922X.2013.869370). Astronauts report certain experiences that can be classified as awe and wonder when looking out of their space station or shuttle portals at two different stimuli: the earth and deep space. Based on these reports, it was of interest to further investigate those types of experiences by using a mixed-reality environment resembling an International Space Station workstation designed to expose subjects to simulated stimuli of the earth and deep space. The study is multidisciplinary, involving simulation construction, physiological assessment, psychological testing, textual analysis, and phenomenological interviews. The goal was to induce in the average person the experiences and responses of the astronauts. Preliminary results show promise for using a virtual/mixed-reality environment in a laboratory when assessing cognitive/affective experiences, such as awe and wonder, found in a real-world context. Keywords: virtual and real-world environments; physiological measures; phenomeno- logical interviews; space; cognitive experiences 1. Introduction The use of a simulated environment to create an experimental test bed where a number of variables can be easily manipulated is an appealing idea for the exploration of certain hard-to-test behavioural and experiential phenomena. The focus for this article is on the methodologies used to study specific kinds of experiences undergone by astronauts during space travel. For several reasons, the study of such experiences without the use of simula- tion would be unfeasible or too expensive. For example, testing subjects on earth rather than sending them into space is more affordable and it also provides a degree of control over a number of important aspects. As will be illustrated, however, the use of simulation (instead of real space flight) also comes with certain limitations. The use of simulation allowed for replication and study of specific kinds of experien- ces that, to our knowledge, have never before been studied scientifically. The experiences range from deeply aesthetic to spiritual, to outright religious experiences reported by numerous astronauts and cosmonauts during space flight, and recorded both in space- flight journals and in reflections and interviews after returning to the earth. 1 The interdisci- plinary project involves (1) textual analyses (including both hermeneutical and syntacti- cal analyses) of original texts by astronauts, cosmonauts, and other space travellers, and of follow-up interviews with study participants; (2) image analysis that defined specific