The Mir Space Station
What is the Mir Space Station?
The Russian Mir is the only space station currently in operation. Mir is 43 feet long and 14 feet wide, with 98-foot-long solar panels. The main body of Mir consists of four areas; a docking compartment, living quarters, a work area, and a propulsion chamber. Now on its 13th year, Mir hascontinuously hosted a series of Russian cosmonauts and international space travelers. The space station's name comes from the Russian word for "peace". Among the international visitors have been five American astronauts, Norman Thagard, Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, and Micheal Foale, and a Japanese journalist, Toyohiro Akiyama.
