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Valeri Polyakov

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Valeri Polyakov was a famous cosmonaut.

Cosmonaut Polyakov Watches Discovery's Rendezvous With Mir - GPN-2002-000078
Cosmonaut Polyakov Watches Discovery's Rendezvous With Mir - GPN-2002-000078

He was also a doctor. He studied space medicine. This is the study of how space affects the body.

Valeri flew into space two times. His first trip lasted 240 days. His second trip was even longer. He stayed on the Mir space station for 437 days.

Soyuz TM-18 patch
Soyuz TM-18 patch

This was a record for one trip. He completed over 7,000 orbits of the Earth.

Valeri wanted to help us reach Mars. He wanted to see how the body handles micro-gravity. Micro-gravity is the state of having very little gravity. He also studied how people feel in space. Scientists found his mood stayed stable during long trips.

When he landed from his second flight, he walked to a chair. He did not want to be carried. He wanted to show humans could work on Mars.

Soyuz TM-20 patch
Soyuz TM-20 patch

In total, Valeri spent 678 days in space. He died in 2022 at age 80.

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File:Soyuz TM-6 patch.svg
Soyuz TM-6 patch.svg
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Soyuz TM-7 patch.png
File:Soyuz TM-18 patch.png
Soyuz TM-18 patch.png
File:Soyuz TM-20 patch.png
Soyuz TM-20 patch.png
File:Cosmonaut Polyakov Watches Discovery's Rendezvous With Mir - GPN-2002-000078.jpg
Cosmonaut Polyakov Watches Discovery's...
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