From the Past to the Futuregrowing literature on mixed-gender and multicultural groups in polar settings and
space simulations, the information from space missions is primarily anecdotal. With
respect to gender, this is partly because of the low number of women involved and
the associated need to maintain confidentiality. Also, the small sample sizes make
it difficult to isolate the effects of gender or culture from factors such as personality
and professional training experiences. Most spaceflight experiences with multicul-
tural space crews, thus far, stem from international Shuttle or Mir missions where
cross-cultural aspects were inevitably confounded with “host/guest” differences, i.e.,
where the missions usually involved one “dominant culture” being the host for
crewmembers from other countries, organizations, and professions.
There is no doubt that national interests will continue to play a major role in
decisions about the cultural mix of crews for specific missions. Within that context,
decisions about crew composition ideally should be made on the basis of the com-
patibility of a group of persons possessing the range of skills required for the particu-
lar mission. This information can be obtained by behavioral observations of a larger
group from which a particular crew will be selected. The use of a uniform assess-
ment battery across countries to provide data to inform about selection for specific
space missions would also be helpful. However, in reality, this information might be
difficult to obtain. Space agencies have shown differences in preferences regarding
measurements. Additionally, the same measure might not be equally applicable or
valid for different national groups. In the context of long-duration spaceflight such
as a future Mars mission, there is still very little empirical evidence to inform on the
ideal crew mix despite the many discussions that have ensued. Addressing this issue
by conducting systematic research in analog environments will require a significant
commitment by space agencies in terms of priorities and funding. However, it is
likely that existing basic research and studies from other fields on broader popula-
tions can provide important insights into group processes in spaceflights. For exam-
ple, information about cooperation in multinational groups is available from fields
such as anthropology, sociology, and cross-cultural psychology. Although one needs
to be mindful about the fact that astronauts represent a highly selected group, find-
ings from broader populations can, to a large extent, be used to generate empirical
testable hypotheses for research in analog environments.
A comprehensive program in spaceflight behavioral health must be broad based;
be interdisciplinary; and address issues at the individual, small group, and organi-
zational levels. In dealing with issues of relevance to multinational spaceflight,