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In his Oral History, U.S. Mir astronaut Andy Thomas talks about his Mir experience.
He says, "I had a repertoire of science experiments and some engineering things to do, but I would have to say, for me . . . the primary focus . . . was the personal experience.
"I knew this was going to be a very difficult experience. Mike Foale described it as the toughest thing he'd ever done in his life. I could well believe that, and I knew that it's not the kind of experience that everyone can do. . . .
"So my personal goal was to make this a good experience for me at a personal level and a professional level. If the personal rewards were there, I knew that I would have no trouble fulfilling the professional and programmatic requirements.
"So my goal was that I would be able to look back on this in June, after the landing, and say, 'That was a good experience. I'm glad that worked. I made that work, and I'm glad I did it.' And that was the focus of a lot of my energies during the flight."
Related
Links:
Thomas Increment
Profile: Andy Thomas
Andy
Thomas Oral History (PDF)
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Curator:
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Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty