Challenges of Human Space Exploration

This non-technical and well illustrated book tells the story of what was accomplished during the Shuttle-Mir programme by three of the astronauts. Based on interviews granted to the author by the astronauts, the book describes the experiments they took and the lessons they learned. In doing so it provides a unique insight into how adversity and challenges can be overcome in the process of exploration, making it ideally suited to those planning space missions of a long-duration. Amongst the topics covered are: growing food in space, curing disease with space crystals, and lessons learned form Mir. It also contains interviews with managers of the space programme at the Johnson Space Centre and scientists involved in the experiments.

This book provides an insight into how people overcome adversity and challenges in order to explore. It provides historic examples of lessons for future human endeavours in space. The book could be used by those planning space missions of long duration in the future and by all those with an interest in space and exploration. It tells the story of what was accomplished during the Shuttle-Mir programme based on the interviews granted to the author by three of the astronauts. It focuses on their descriptions of the human aspects of exploration of space and their attempts to solve problems both mechanical and interpersonal. It describes the experiments they undertook during the Apollo-Soyuz and Shuttle-Mir programmes and the lessons learnded.

This book provides an insight into how people overcome adversity and challenges in order to explore

Summary of the Contents:
- Skylab sets the Stage
- The US and Russia Aboard Mir
- Growing Food in Space
- A Bip-Revolution Through Tissue Engineering
- Space Crystals Join the Fight Against Disease
- The Lessons Learned from Mir
- Science on an International Space Laboratory
- Appendices
- Bibliography