You make a valid point, when it comes to general scientific research, and scientists already tend to work on international teams across cultures and geographica

You make a valid point, when it comes to general scientific research, and scientists already tend to work on international teams across cultures and geographical regions. Space programs benefit from a fairly centralized approach, with teams of engineers working to analyze and correct glitches and anomalies in real time. It would be harder to coordinate a distributed team when time is of the essence.