  Future astronauts living and working on the Moon will face extreme
environmental conditions impeding their operational safety and performance.
While it has been suggested that Augmented Reality (AR) Head-Up Displays (HUDs)
could potentially help mitigate some of these adversities, the applicability of
AR in the unique lunar context remains underexplored. To address this
limitation, we have produced an accurate representation of the lunar setting in
virtual reality (VR) which then formed our testbed for the exploration of
prospective operational scenarios with aerospace experts. Herein we present
findings based on qualitative reflections made by the first 6 study
participants. AR was found instrumental in several use cases, including the
support of navigation and risk awareness. Major design challenges were likewise
identified, including the importance of redundancy and contextual
appropriateness. Drawing on these findings, we conclude by outlining directions
for future research aimed at developing AR-based assistive solutions tailored
to the lunar setting.
