Thse insights have been pulled from the individual experiences of astronauts and cosmonauts recorded in published first person accounts — journals, diaries, debriefs, and post-flight reflections.As this database includes the personal, subjective experiences from a diversity of flyers, they may sometimes contradict, but together they provide a more holistic, if messy, picture of life in space. To learn more about how these categories were developed, please see this related publication.
A first time flyer noted that her veteran Russian colleagues would speak in English to her NASA colleagues, who in turn would respond in Russian, as a sign of mutual respect.
A female commander was gifted Kazakh riding whips by Russian dignitaries 'to keep the men in line,' but they were left at home on Earth.