many more international missions are planned. Such missions have not always gone smoothly; communication has been a significant problem, and there may be other problems as well [4, 9]. Less immediate contributions of anthropologists can be briefly covered since these have been discussed by [6] and by other participants in the ‘Bateson Project'. Anthropologists' understanding of migration and cultural diffusion is extremely important for understanding space colonization or settlement. How large a group is required to ensure an adequate gene pool? Should some sort of genetic screening take place? What size parties are the most likely to be self-sustaining in outer space? What size parties form themselves into natural living and working units? Should people emigrate in one large group, or in a number of smaller groups? Are democratic or authoritarian forms of organization more promising? Another substantive area is the evolution and diffusion of human cultures in extraterrestrial settings. Very important here is understanding and managing the relationship between the sponsoring or ‘mother' culture and its colonies. Relations between central command and expeditionary parties in isolated and confined settings are often strained, and in many cases expeditionary parties have shown signs of rebellion [4, 9, 18]. It is interesting to note that one anthropologist is already at work analysing the cultures of the pro-space movement and groups. The time may come when such Earthbased research can be transported to varied space communities that will emerge. Anthropological Assets in Understanding Space Culture Earlier, we noted that space agency culture is such that ‘soft' scientists have not had much funding, have not had access to pertinent subject populations, and have not had much of an impact on actual mission operations. The attitudes of mission planners and managers, the pattern of rewards within the organization, and the organization's dependence on external funds have worked against the interests of personality, social, and organizational psychologists [14], However, anthropologists may have certain advantages. First, to gain a significant role in the space programme, it is necessary to understand, and work within, space agency culture. Through participant observation and the enthnographic method, anthropologists may gain a ‘feel' for space agency culture that is useful for gaining access to actual space crews. Stated another way, anthropologists might benefit from doing studies of NASA before doing studies for NASA. They might also apply their insights to the study of aerospace industry culture and of its major contractors. Second, many of the psychologists and sociologists who are interested in the space programme have tended to focus on psychopathology and social deviance. We really must be concerned about emotional instability and social incompatibility, but some professionals' near-obsession with this topic has been counterproductive [18]. The idea that the human psyche is the weakest element in the entire spaceflight system is inconsistent with people's experiences and is insulting to mission personnel. Researchers who promise to expose psychological and social problems raise questions about managers' abilities to manage and spacefarers' abilities to fly. They also attract unwelcome attention from the media. Anthropologists do not seem to have this obsession with the pathological or deviant. From the view of space agency personnel, the potential costs of doing business with anthropologists may be relatively low. A true macroperspective is another ‘plus' for anthropology. Relative to most
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