01
Training Delivery
Astronaut-grade human performance training for analog astronaut candidates and for crews about to launch.
- STAR Course for candidates
- Pre-mission crew training
- STAR Summit expedition
- Custom team workshops
Optimizing human potential, leadership, safety culture, and success for extraordinary missions.
We train analog astronaut candidates and crews, audit and staff habitats, and support missions from the first plan to the final debrief.
For individuals, crews, habitats, and mission operators
Human performance, safety, and leadership for the people who run extreme missions.
Interstellar Performance Labs is a training and human factors consultancy. We prepare individuals and teams for high-stakes, isolated, and extreme environments, and we help the organizations that run those environments embed safety and performance into everything they do.
Our work is grounded in NASA’s Human Behavior & Performance competencies, HFACS, and the international standards for space analogs we helped write.
What we do
Three ways we work with you
Whether you are preparing for your first analog mission, running a habitat, or commanding a crew in the field, there is a clear place to start.
02
Habitat Support
Safety audits, crew selection, and reporting systems for analog habitats and the organizations that run them.
- Human factors safety audits
- Crew selection & recruitment
- Safety reporting systems
- Standards & readiness reviews
03
Mission Support
Mission planning, mission command support, and safety reporting from the first timeline to the final debrief.
- Mission planning & risk reviews
- Mission command support
- In-mission safety reporting
- Debriefs & root cause analysis
Who we work with
Two doors. One standard.
Preparation beats luck. People come before egos. Safety and leadership are non-negotiable, and every mission deserves a crew that’s ready to deliver.
Individuals & candidates
I want to become mission-ready.
Aspiring and active analog astronauts, citizen astronauts, and anyone preparing to join a crew. Start with the STAR Program.
The STAR Program
Habitats & mission operators
I run a habitat, a crew, or a mission.
Analog habitats, research programs, universities, and companies that need safety systems, selected crews, and support in the field.
Habitat & mission supportOur approach
Built on the standards space agencies use
We don’t stop at theory. Every training, assessment, and consulting deliverable is crafted to raise the bar for what safe, effective, and mission-ready should actually look like.
NASA Human Behavior & Performance Competency Model
The framework astronauts train against. Every IPL training program is built on these competencies: communication, teamwork and group living, leadership, conflict management, cross-cultural awareness, self-care and self-management, situational awareness and decision making, and emotional regulation.
Human Factors Analysis & Classification System (HFACS)
A proven framework for identifying and preventing human error. We use it to audit habitats, investigate incidents, and design systems that get ahead of failure instead of reacting to it. Its co-developer, Dr. Scott Shappell, advises IPL.
International Guidelines & Standards for Space Analogs (IGSA)
A collaborative benchmark we helped shape in 2022, aligning habitats and mission operators on safety, training, and human factors standards. We audit and prepare organizations against it.
Trusted by crews, habitats, and research programs
17
STAR candidates certified
75
Candidates trained in one self-study program
2022
Founded · co-authors of IGSA
Numbers are derived from the About-page milestones (6 + 6 + 5 certified; 75 in the 2024 self-study program). Replace with current totals.
This course was helpful in two ways. First, it helped solidify relationships with my crew mates prior to undergoing an analog together. Second, it allowed me to better understand how I function in groups, how to best support my crew mates, and in general just gave me insight into who I am.
Stay Stellar!Featured program
The STAR Program: from candidate to certified crew member.
Self-study training, a candidate exam, certification intensives, and a registry that mission operators can hire from. Plus STAR Summit, a five-day in-person readiness expedition at Biosphere 2.
Meet our founder
Emily Apollonio
Organizer of chaos, human factors consultant, and analog astronaut.
With over a decade of experience in human factors, accident investigation, fitness, and human spaceflight analogs, Emily is on a mission to transform how teams lead, train, and operate under pressure. Whether she’s refining safety systems or prepping a crew to thrive in isolation, she brings relentless energy, structured thinking, and a bold vision for what’s possible when humans are truly mission-ready.
Powered by Fort Hill Group. Interstellar Performance Labs operates as part of Fort Hill Group, which brings {aviation safety, human factors, and systems-engineering depth} to every engagement.
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Let’s get to work
Ready to raise your standard?
Tell us about your mission, your habitat, or your crew. A 30-minute discovery call is the fastest way to find out how we can help.