Knowing cognitive performance on interfaces in risky environments is essential. The complexity of spacecraft interfaces causes astronauts’ cognitive loads, affecting mission completion and threatening safety. Now that the Chinese Space Station is undertaking global cooperation, Chinese Characters have become highly usable as the standard language of spacecraft systems. Targeting these concerns, based on healthful dark patterns, this paper explores the impact mechanism of Chinese Characters complexity and layout elements on cognitive performance. Combining task assessment, eye-movement feedback and subjective evaluation as indicators, and utilizing virtual reality technology to simulate space. This paper explores the intrinsic relationship between different interfaces and subjects’ cognitive load. In Experiment I, determined the legibility of Chinese characters on structures, strokes, sizes, spacing. Obtained their threshold ranges within the spacecraft interface. In Experiment II, selected cognitively beneficial interface layouts by element permutation test. Additionally, using multiple linear regression, discerned cognitive preferences for datas, labels, auxiliary lines, and buttons. Based on the findings, this study proposed optimization insights for spacecraft interfaces, designed schemes and validated usability. Confirmed the enhancement in astronauts’ recognition efficiency and mission success rate.