Orbita Prime: Human Readiness and Institutional Responsibility – Governance Framework for Extreme Environment Missions

This policy paper introduces Orbita Prime, a conceptual governance framework addressing human readiness and institutional responsibility in missions conducted in extreme environments. As human activity expands into Arctic and Antarctic research stations, deep-sea habitats, space analog environments, and future space exploration missions, technological capabilities have advanced significantly. However, the human dimension of such missions remains insufficiently addressed within existing governance structures. Orbita Prime proposes a structured governance architecture focused on four key pillars: human readiness assessment, institutional responsibility, mission risk governance, and post-mission reintegration. The framework aims to complement existing scientific and operational protocols by introducing a policy-oriented approach to human safety, ethical responsibility, and institutional accountability in extreme operational environments. By integrating governance considerations with ongoing research in human factors and exploration missions, Orbita Prime seeks to contribute to emerging discussions on responsible human exploration and the development of sustainable frameworks supporting long-duration missions in extreme environments.