How crew composition and interpersonal relations affect crew functioning and effectiveness has been and continues to be of interest to both NASA and the institute of biomedical problems ibmp, whose…

This federal contract award, with ID NNX16AQ48G, was granted by NASA to DePaul University, a private Catholic university in Chicago, Illinois. The 3-year, $420,282 grant is for a U.S.-Russia collaborative research effort to study how crew composition and interpersonal relations affect crew functioning and effectiveness in isolated and confined environments, which is of interest to both NASA and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Russia. The research will leverage existing data from prior Mars simulation studies and collect new data from the Habitat Demonstration Unit (HERA) campaigns in 2017 and 2018. The project aims to develop an integrative model detailing how team member attributes, combinations thereof, and interpersonal perceptions affect the emergence of relational states. It will also examine the validity of the Personal Self Perception and Attitudes (PSPA) measure used by the Russian Federal Space Agency. The research products are expected to contribute to NASA's Team Composition and Interpersonal Relations research gaps. The contract does not have a set-aside designation.

How crew composition and interpersonal relations affect crew functioning and effectiveness has been and continues to be of interest to both NASA and the institute of biomedical problems ibmp, whose research informs operations for the russian federal space agency. Over time, research from these agencies has evolved with different emphases. NASA sponsored team composition research heavily relies on trait and network theories. IT seeks to identify traits and combinations of traits that can be used to compose, train, and manage highly effective crews team GAP 8. Ibmp sponsored research mostly has moved away from trait based approaches toward an idiographic in depth, heavily descriptive approach to researching crew interpersonal relations. We propose a cutting edge integrative model which details how team member attributes, combinations thereof, and interpersonal perceptions affects the emergence of relational states in isolated and confined environments ICE. Specifically, we propose to develop and empirically test a process model of interpersonal relationship formation in ICE. As part of our research, we also will examine the validity of the personal self perception and attitudes pspa, which is a standardized measure utilized by the russians to assess interpersonal compatibility and relations. We propose a 3 year US russian collaborative effort in which we leverage existing data previously collected in the mars 105 and mars 500 simulations collect new data using analog definition research in the 2017 and 2018 hera campaigns and use a novel data analysis approach. Our efforts will result in research products critical to team gaps 1, 4, and 8, including an empirically supported model, recommendations for a path forward for international collaboration in research related to team composition and interpersonal relations in ICE, and a summary of validation evidence for the pspa with recommendations for whether IT should be included in nasas standardized measures for analog environments.