Acta Astronautica 66 (2010) 245--256 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Astronautica journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro Cross-cultural management supporting global space exploration P. Ehrenfreund a, ∗ , N. Peter b , K.U. Schrogl b , J.M. Logsdon a, c a Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, 1957 E Street, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20052, USA b European Space Policy Institute ESPI, Schwarzenbergplatz 6, 1030 Vienna, Austria c National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 6 November 2008 Received in revised form 1 April 2009 Accepted 30 May 2009 Available online 6 August 2009 Keywords: Cross-cultural management Space policy Space exploration International cooperation Cultural dimension A new era of space exploration has begun that may soon expand into a global endeavor mainly driven by socio-economic motives. Currently the main space powers, namely the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, Canada as well as new rising space powers China and India, are pursuing national exploration programs to explore robotically and later with hu- mans the Earth–Moon–Mars space. New axes of partnerships and cooperation mechanisms have emerged in the last decades. However, in order to achieve highly ambitious goals such as establishing human bases on the Moon, journeys to Mars and the construction of new infrastructures in space, international space cooperation has to be optimized to reduce costs and reap the benefits of worldwide expertise. Future ambitious space exploration endeavors are a long-term undertaking that could influence countries to look beyond their own interests and see the advantages that a larger program can bring. This paper provides new concepts for managing global space exploration in the framework of cross-cultural management, an element often neglected in the planning of future partnerships. Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction We are currently at the verge of transitioning to a new space exploration era targeting the Earth–Moon–Mars space. 1 A number of robotic and human space exploration endeavors are currently in the planning stage to visit Moon, Mars and Near Earth Objects (NEOs). The expansion of hu- man presence in space will involve new stakeholders as well as a growing number of new countries leading to an ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 202 994 5124; fax: +1 202 994 1639. E-mail address: pehren@gwu.edu (P. Ehrenfreund). 1 The European Space Agency ESA defines exploration as the ``travel through [and to] an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it'' and space exploration as ``extending access and a sustainable presence for humans in the Earth–Moon–Mars space, including the Lagrangian points and near-Earth objects'' [1]. In this paper we adopt this definition of space exploration to explore robotically and later with humans neighboring planets and small bodies of our solar system. 0094-5765/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.05.030 internationalization of the space exploration context. Space exploration has evolved from a “space race” between the two major space powers, the United States and the Soviet Union (now Russia) during the Cold War, toward a more diverse set of actors, with major contributions from Europe, Japan, Canada and rising new partners such as China and India. The period of human space exploration was initiated by the suc- cessful launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik in 1957 and culminated with the first human landing on the Moon in the context of the Apollo program in 1969. After these suc- cessful achievements the “space race” slowed down and the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) of 1975 is seen histor- ically as the first human spaceflight project managed jointly by two countries. The new era of space exploration unfold- ing in the post-Cold War era is based on a more coopera- tive approach symbolized by the International Space Station (ISS), still under assembly. Within two years (2007–2009) four space powers (Japan, China, India, US) launched orbiters to the Moon.