Psychology of Space Exploration

Spaceflight and Cross-Cultural Psychology

other concerns as well—prejudices against members of other cultures, in addition
to conflicting values and preferences. How would emotionally controlled astronauts
react to highly expressive Russians?^14 Interest was further piqued in the 1990s when
astronauts joined cosmonauts on Mir. A 1993 study based on debriefing American
astronauts who had flown with international crewmembers revealed 9 preflight, 26
in-flight, and 7 postflight incidents of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and
interpersonal conflict.^15 Journalist Bryan Burrough described (and perhaps slightly
sensationalized) several instances where cultural differences influenced astronaut
performance and morale.^16 Cultural problems that the astronauts reported pertained
to personal hygiene, food preferences, and chosen activities as well as to interper-
sonal distance, privacy, and work styles.^17 Jason Kring summarized experience with
international crews prior to the ISS as follows:

Apollo-Soyuz, Shuttle, and Shuttle-Mir proved, for the most part,

that international cooperation was feasible and rewarding. During

Shuttle-Mir, the U.S. and Russia gained from each other’s strengths

and weaknesses, learned how to work together, and gathered insights

that directly benefitted the ISS. There were, however, moments of

confusion and disagreement between the two countries, incidents

that affected crew performance and mission activities. Differences

in management, training, decision-making and problem resolution,

for example, were tied to differences in national culture and the

backgrounds of the U.S. and Russian crewmembers and personnel.^18

A recent International Academy of Astronautics study group pointed out that
one of the reasons that culture is so important is because it influences almost all

14. Ibid.


15. P. A. Santy, A. W. Holland, L. Looper, and R. Macondes-North, “Multicultural Factors
    in an International Crew Debrief,” Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 64 (1993):
    196–200.


16. B. Burrough, Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir (New York: Harper Collins,
    1998).


17. Ritsher, “Cultural Factors and the International Space Station.”


18. J. Kring, “Multicultural Factors for International Spaceflight,” Journal of Human
    Performance in Extreme Environments 5, no. 3 (2001): 11.