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[[Image:mirdream sts76.jpg|thumb|225px|This image was recorded by [[astronaut]]s as the [[Space Shuttle Atlantis]] approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the [[STS-76]] mission. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir is hovering about 350 kilometers above [[New Zealand]]'s [[South Island]] and the city of [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] near Cook Strait.]]
'''Mir''' (Мир, which can mean both ''world'' and ''peace'' in [[Russian language|Russian]]) was a [[Russia|Russian]] [[space station]] that was humanity's first permanently inhabited [[space station]]. It was constructed in orbit by connecting different modules, each launched separately from [[February 19]], [[1986]] to [[1996]]. Mir was based upon the [[Salyut]] series of space stations previously launched by the [[Soviet Union]]. During the [[Shuttle-Mir]] Program, Russia's Mir combined its capabilities with [[United States]] [[space shuttle|space shuttles]]. The orbiting Mir provided a large and livable [[science|scientific]] [[laboratory ]]in [[outer space]]. The visiting [[space shuttle|space shuttles]] provided [[transportation]] and [[supply|supplies]], as well as temporary enlargements of living and working areas, creating history's largest [[spacecraft]], with a combined mass of 250 tons. The visiting US shuttles used a modified docking collar designed for the Soviet [[Buran]] shuttle that was originally intended to service the station.
The 100-ton Mir was as big as six schoolbuses. Inside, it looked more like a cramped [[labyrinth]], crowded with hoses, cables and scientific instruments -- as well as articles of everyday life, such as [[photograph|photos]], children's drawings, [[book]]s and a [[guitar]]. It commonly housed three crewmembers, but it sometimes supported for up to a month as many as six, including the first [[Afghan]] [[astronaut]] [[Abdul Ahad Mohmand]]. Except for two short periods, Mir was continuously occupied until August [[1999]].
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==External link==
*http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir.html Site contains detailed diagrams, pictures and background info.
*http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm Site describes the Mir-Shuttle Docking Module
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