Our Story
Ad Astra Human Science was born from a conviction that the most critical variable in any aerospace mission is the one most often underestimated: the human being. Founded by a neuroscientist, clinical neuropsychologist, and commercial pilot with more than two decades at the frontier of human factors research, Ad Astra brings together what traditional institutions rarely unite — the rigor of neuroscience, the depth of clinical psychology, the precision of engineering, and the interpretive power of the humanities. We believe that understanding how the human mind and body respond to extreme environments is not merely an academic pursuit. It is a matter of life and survival.
Our mission
We are driven by the belief that advancing human knowledge in aerospace must always serve human flourishing. Our mission is to generate rigorous, integrated research that keeps people safer, drives better performance, and deepens understanding of what it means to live and work beyond the ordinary boundaries of Earth.
Our Founder — Dr. Mariateresa Sestito
With over 20 years at the intersection of neuroscience, clinical psychology, and aerospace medicine, Dr. Sestito's career has been shaped by a single core belief: understanding the human mind and body is the key to keeping people safe in the most demanding environments on Earth — and beyond.
Her journey began in psychiatry and clinical neuropsychology in the early 2000s, assessing and treating patients with acquired brain injuries, degenerative diseases, and neuropsychiatric conditions. That grounding in human vulnerability and resilience became the foundation for everything that followed. Over time, her work expanded into high-performance aerospace environments — designing psychophysiological experiments, applying a neuro-ergonomic lens to cockpit design and human performance research, and contributing to international science and technology organizations in the field of human factors and aerospace medicine.
Those 20+ years of accumulated expertise converged into Ad Astra Human Science — a firm that translates deep scientific knowledge into real-world solutions for aviation and space exploration.
When not working, a passion for aviation takes her aloft aboard a 1940s taildragger — perhaps the best reminder of why this work matters.
"The grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings (…), and apply myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar. That is why I abandoned, at the age of six, a magnificent career as an artist. (…). Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again. So then I had to choose another career, and I learned to pilot airplanes." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Our values
What we do
Ad Astra specializes in the human side of aerospace — the complex physiological, psychological, and cognitive dimensions that determine whether people can survive, perform, and thrive in the most demanding environments ever conceived. Our work spans fundamental research and applied consulting, often simultaneously. We design experiments, develop frameworks, advise on system design, and build the kind of cross-sector knowledge networks that produce lasting change.
Our Core Capabilities
- Trans-Disciplinary R&D – We integrate multiple scientific domains — neuroscience, clinical psychology, psychophysiology, human factors engineering, and the humanities — to generate research that no single discipline could produce alone. Our approach is rooted in a phenomenology-inspired methodology that honors the full complexity of the lived human experience.
This includes cross-sector partnerships spanning DoD, NASA, NATO, academia, and industry — integrating neuroscience, engineering & humanities.
- Human Factors & Aerospace Medicine – From cockpit ergonomics to the physiological effects of microgravity, we provide subject matter expertise that advances safety, performance, and survivability in aviation and space environments. We analyze human performance, optimize operator interfaces, and develop evidence-based protocols for extreme-environment operations.
This includes: Human performance (“error”) analysis, crew resource management, spatial disorientation, hypoxia, motion sickness research, aircrew survivability.
- Neuro-ergonomics & Human-Centered Design – includes: Human/User-Centered Design (HCD), cockpit design, human performance metrics, psychophysiology & safety-driven system Design.
- Applied Psychophysiology & Neuroscience – We design and execute psychophysiological experiments that measure how the human nervous system responds to the unique stressors of aerospace environments — cognitive load, spatial disorientation, fatigue, isolation, and more.
This includes: Applications of physiological techniques such as EEG, HRV, EMG, fMRI; utilization of biofeedback; metrics related to decision making and psycho-physiological resilience under operational stressors.
- Clinical Neuropsychology – Our clinical foundation informs everything we do. We apply deep knowledge of brain function, acquired brain injury, and neuropsychiatric spectrum conditions to assess and protect the cognitive health of operators in high-stakes settings.
- Human Performance Optimization – We develop and evaluate interventions that enhance cognitive and physical performance in extreme environments — drawing on behavioral science, neuroscience, and engineering to design systems and protocols that bring out the best in human capability.
Includes: Motion sickness mitigation, disorientation, hypoxia & workload research for extreme environments; resilient psychophysiological profiles in high-stake environments.
- International Cross-Sector Partnership Development – We actively build resilient networks across government, industry, and academia — connecting the right experts across borders to accelerate discovery and turn research into strategy, design, and practice.
Includes: Proposal writing, federal funding strategy, international teaming, academic-industry-government collaboration.
Services We Provide
Examples of services we provide are the following:
Human Factors Evaluations & Human-Centered Design (HCD) We conduct comprehensive human factors evaluations, flight deck usability testing, and human‑centered design reviews. Our support extends to certification processes for crew systems and flight deck interfaces, ensuring operational clarity, safety, and ergonomic excellence.
Human Performance & Survivability Studies We analyze human performance in aerospace environments, with emphasis on pilot and crew operational resilience. Our work includes monitoring and assessing crew health, spatial disorientation, hypoxia risk, and physiological resilience during high‑demand phases such as launch and re‑entry.
Psychophysiological Data Collection & Analysis We apply advanced psycho‑physiological techniques — including EEG, HRV, and biofeedback — to evaluate interoception and stress responses. These methods support both crew and ground personnel operating under demanding conditions.
Safety Culture & SMS Assessments We strengthen aerospace safety programs through safety culture assessments, climate surveys, and Safety Management System (SMS) evaluations. Our approach enhances organizational safety maturity and operational reliability.
Training & Workshops We deliver specialized training in human factors, aerospace psycho‑psychology, space adaptation, and safety leadership in high‑stakes environments. We also provide research methodology workshops tailored to scientific and operational teams.
Grant & Proposal Development We design research protocols, develop federal funding strategies, and support multi‑partner teaming across academia, government, and industry. Our expertise accelerates competitive proposal development and collaborative research execution.
Strategic Partnership Coordination We facilitate multinational partnership building, aligning science, operations, and stakeholder engagement to maximize mission value and collaborative impact.
Our MethodologyAt Ad Astra, methodology is not a formality. It is a commitment. We advocate for a multidisciplinary, phenomenology-inspired research approach — one that acknowledges the irreducible complexity of human experience and refuses reductive explanations. Our work is rigorous in its empirical foundation and expansive in its interpretive ambition. We operate across institutions and borders, bringing together diverse expertise under a shared commitment to advancing what is possible for human exploration.
