How many people will Endeavour need to make it into deep space? That’s a question several teams have been working on recently, for a number of reasons.

It’s a question of crucial concern to the vessel design team, who need to balance the number of people necessary to operate the ship’s systems with the amount of living space needed to ensure safety and comfort on long cruises. Endeavour’s systems will be complex but many functions can be managed by artificial intelligence built into the command and control systems, reducing the number of crew needed.