Record-breaking Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov dies
Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov has died at the age of 80.
Polyakov holds the record for the longest-ever trip to space – a massive 437 full days orbiting the Earth between 1994 and 1995 on the Mir space station.
He worked on experiments to see whether people could maintain their mental health if they were to make a long journey to Mars.
Tests found that there was no impairment of his cognitive function as a result of his 14-month trip.
The Russian space agency announced Polyakov’s death, they used his honorary titles – hero of the Soviet Union and pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR.
The cause of death has not been made public.
He lived and worked on the Mir space station from 8 January 1994 to 22 March 1995. He later said the duration of the trip was the equivalent of travelling to Mars and back.
His research had helped to prove that humans could handle flights well beyond Earth’s orbit, into deep space.
