When astronauts drift through the weightless environment of the International Space Station (ISS), even the simplest movements can defy intuition.
With no “up” or “down” to rely on, their brains must constantly recalibrate, sometimes leading to strange illusions or fleeting moments of disorientation.
York University Professor Robert Allison wants to understand exactly how this happens.
York has been contributing to space research for decades through the Centre for Vision Research and the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, establishing itself as a leader in visual perception and aviation-space studies. That legacy underpins Allison’s latest project, the Home-Base experiment, which he presented on Oct. 28 during a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) media briefing.
Developed in collaboration with computer science Professor Michael Jenkin, Home-Base explores how astronauts maintain their sense of place and direction in microgravity – using virtual reality (VR) to probe one of space flight’s most puzzling challenges: orientation without gravity.
“We’ve been exploring these questions for many years,” says Allison, a professor in York’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Lassonde School of Engineering.
“Our work began with the Neurolab mission in the 1990s and continued with NASA and CSA projects like BISE and Vection. Home-Base builds on that foundation by examining how we maintain our sense of place when gravity is no longer a reference.”
For Allison and his collaborators, virtual reality isn’t just a training tool – it’s a research window into perception. “We’re not using VR to help astronauts adapt to microgravity,” he explains. “We employ it as a research tool to understand how that adaptation occurs.”
By immersing astronauts in precisely controlled virtual environments, the team can reproduce complex motion cues from real-world settings while isolating the factors that influence spatial orientation.
“Designing VR systems that actually function on the ISS comes with its own challenges,” adds Jenkin. “Commodity virtual reality technology often fails under the constraints of microgravity and space-rated hardware. We’re developing software tailored to those conditions.”
Jenkin’s prior research in both terrestrial labs and microgravity environments informs that design. “Earlier work showed systematic differences in performance depending on many factors,” he says. “This time, we’re looking at how orientation – rather than position – affects spatial awareness, and how linear and rotational motion are integrated on Earth versus during long-duration space flight.”
Spatial disorientation, Allison says, “is common during space flight and, when severe, can compromise astronaut safety and performance.”
Understanding how astronauts adapt – or sometimes fail to – could lead to more effective training and even inform the design of spacecraft interiors to minimize sensory confusion.
The Canadian Space Agency’s long-standing collaboration with York has been key to advancing human space flight research. CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk, who attended the media event, represents that partnership.
“Astronauts like Joshua are a source of inspiration and provide invaluable first-hand experience,” Allison says. “They play a dual role: they are both experimenters and experimental participants. They carry out incredibly diverse tasks for researchers on the ground and contribute their own lived experience of life in microgravity.”
Through projects such as Home-Base, York’s researchers continue to extend Canada’s legacy in space neuroscience and human factors research, helping astronauts find their bearings, even when there’s no up or down to guide them.