What qualities, specifically, does NASA seek when choosing the astronaut elite?

Shannon Lucid, who's spent more time in space than any other American to date, provides a clue. After clocking a total of 185 days on the space station Mir, Lucid was slated for return. But a rash of unforeseen circumstances forced numerous, on-going revisions in the plans, extending her stay by a total of 45 days. Through this haze of uncertainty, Lucid thrived. A strong suit of interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain a reflective focus and inner calm, NASA psychologists believe, helped Lucid continue to perform productively.

Yet it would be simplistic to staff future space stations and ships with Lucid clones. A myriad of complex psychological issues, after all, come into play. What are the psychological factors that make a good astronaut? As NASA continues to select crews for ever longer missions, how can they know just which traits will promote health and happiness in space?

The truth of the matter is that, despite advances made in every other domain of space science, the personality traits of the ideal astronaut --if there is such a thing-- remain elusive. The biggest reason, surprisingly, is the lack of research into just what mix of qualities go into living and thriving in space. NASA's original agenda called for extensive investigation of the issue. But while the astronauts of those early years underwent a rigorous array of physiological testing, support for the collection of psychological data was all but abandoned - dwindling from a robust thirty test hours during the Mercury Program, down to only three by the time the Shuttle became operational.

What's more, the meager data is of minimal value to the space program of today. "Astronaut selection requirements have changed considerably since those early years," explains former NASA psychiatrist and flight surgeon Patricia Santy, MD, author of , Choosing the Right Stuff: The Psychological Selection of Astronauts and Cosmonauts. "The people who did really well on those early Mercury flights wouldn't do well at all on six months to a year or two year space station or Mars mission trips. They were "high stimulus" individuals who needed excitement. and exceled under those conditions. But on a drawn-out trip to Mars, these types of individuals would probably become very bored."

Indeed, instead of the classic "Right Stuff," NASA scientists now seek the "Real Stuff" --a pragmatic set of guidelines based on the modern-day requirements for space. Although the enormous task of collecting specific data remains an ongoing subject of study, the experts suspect that fundamental to any astronaut's kit of psychological tools will be qualities such as an ability to tolerate long periods of isolation and monotony, a strong set of interpersonal skills conducive to maintaining group cohesion and an ability to maintain a "mission orientation" - to stay focused on the goal no matter what other distractions may intrude. As the emphasis moves from brief to longer Shuttle missions and finally to life aboard the space station, the selection criteria will shift as well.

One important area to experts like Nick Kanas, MD, is leadership style. According to Kanas, a NASA-sponsored researcher from the University of California at San Francisco, leadership style is so vital that on long missins it may spell the difference between failure or success. In the short run, an ability to accomplish tasks and to respond to emergency situations - to be "directive" - will be of importance, he says. But when the novelty has worn off, the best type of leader may be the one who is most "supportive" --incorporating, along with directive ability, a talent for interacting with the crew and responding to their concerns.

Crew members, too, will need a strong suit of interpersonal skills: team players who can put personal concerns aside to help the group will, in the long run, do best. NASA psychologists like Al Holland, Chief of Psychology at Johnson Space Center, seek astronauts with the capacity to tolerate stress, discomfort and isolation and low levels of stimulation. Astronauts must be self-starters who, when called to action, will take reasonable risks.

If the troubles plaguing the Russian Space Station Mir are any indication, astronauts will also need a healthy dose of optimism and a never-ending supply of perseverance (not to mention a sense of humor!) Astronaut Michael Foale has given us an idea of what the Real Stuff may look like in the years to come: After months of grappling with an increasingly unstable and potentially deadly environment and hampered by a language barrier shared with his Russian colleagues, Foale argued for a continued US presence aboard the aging space station, stating that the unprecedented gains in knowledge and experience were well worth the risks. "We do not attempt these things because they are easy" he said paraphrasing John F. Kennedy, "but because they are hard."