Psychology of Space Exploration
by crewmembers. What kinds of substitute activities can we devise for some future
missions when looking out the window may not be an option?
Then, Harvey Wichman points out that soon, spaceflight may no longer be a
government monopoly and future spacefarers may include growing proportions of
tourists and industrial workers. This situation may require departing from the gov-
ernment agency form of organization that has dominated space exploration so far
in favor of a private enterprise model of commercial space exploration; it will also
require accommodating people who lack the qualifications of today’s astronauts and
cosmonauts. In his view, society is at a historical threshold that will require a shift
in how engineers, designers, flight managers, and crews perform their tasks. He illus-
trates some of these points with his industry-sponsored simulation study intended
to gauge tourist reactions to spaceflight.
Group dynamics is a focal point for Jason Kring and Megan A. Kaminski, who
explore gender effects on social interaction and the determinants of interpersonal
cohesion (commitment to membership in the group) and task cohesion (commit-
ment to the work at hand). Their review of the basic literature on mixed-gender
groups, as well as findings from spaceflight and other extreme environments, points
to the conclusion that whereas there are many benefits to mixed-gender crews (typ-
ically, men and women bring different skills to the mix), the issue is multifaceted
and complex and poses challenges for spaceflight operations. Although psychol-
ogists are gaining some understanding of the determinants of crew cohesion, the
effects on performance depend upon the type of cohesion (interpersonal and task)
and the nature of the task. None of this is simplified by findings that cohesion is
likely to fluctuate over the course of an extended mission.
Cross-cultural issues dominate the next two chapters. In “Flying with
Strangers,” Peter Suedfeld, Kasia Wilk, and Lindi Cassel draw a distinction between
multinational crews, in which “guests” were allowed to participate in U.S. or
Soviet/Russian missions, and international crews, which first appeared aboard the
International Space Station, which is not owned and operated by any one nation.
Through studying the reminiscences of majority and minority participants in mul-
tinational and international missions, they test the hypothesis that multinational
flights are a source of frustration and annoyance that are not evident in the true
partnerships of international flights. Then, Juris Draguns and Albert Harrison elab-
orate on cross-cultural issues and propose applying a cultural assimilator to build
cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity.