The members of the female cosmonaut group were given academic tests and interviewed to choose the first woman in space.

Ponomaryova had the best test results, but did not give 'proper' replies in the interviews. When asked 'What do you want from life?' she replied, 'I want to take everything it can offer'. Tereshkova, on the other hand, intoned 'I want to support irrevocably the Komsomol and Communist Party'. Ponomaryova also maintained that a woman could smoke and still be a decent person, and had made trips unescorted into Fedosiya while there for training. However despite what were considered very grave drawbacks, the final choice was still between Tereshkova and Ponomaryova.