Mir - Life On Board

Life On Board

Inside, the 130 tonne Mir resembled a cramped labyrinth, crowded with hoses, cables and scientific instruments — as well as articles of everyday life, such as photos, children's drawings, books and a guitar. It commonly housed three crew members, but was capable of supporting as many as six for up to a month. The station was designed to remain in orbit for around five years, but ended up remaining in orbit for fifteen. As a result, NASA astronaut John Blaha reported that, with the exception of Priroda and Spektr, which were added later into the station's life, Mir did look used, which is to be expected given it had been lived in for ten to eleven years without being brought home and cleaned.