Challenges of Human Space Exploration

For most people the Mir space station is synonymous with calamity -a fire, collision with an unmanned Progress M-34 supply vehicle, and countless less life-threatening technical failures. Unfortunately that trends to eclipse the fact that the American and Russian space agencies successfully co-operated on this project for six years. NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts worked together to overcome mechanical and engineering breakdowns, cultural differences, political crises and mistrust to contribute significantly to scientific advancement. Here is the untold story of the Shuttle-Mir programme. "Challenges of human space exploration" describes, in detail and in the words of the astronauts who lived aboard Mir, the major scientific achievements of the programme. Not the least, these include lessons learned about reducing risks and stress, and the implications for the forthcoming International Space Station. If you want to look beyond the headlines of the Shuttle-Mir missions, this is the book for you.