Mir (meaning 'Peace') is the latest-generation Russian space station, designed for permanent occupation. In Mir, cosmonauts work for months at a time: some have spent more than a year working there. Crews are ferried to and from the space station by Soyuz ferry. They are periodically supplied by automatic Progress craft, the Progress essentially being an unmanned Soyuz. Mir is built around a core unit that was launched into orbit in February 1986. Externally, this core unit closely resembles the earlier Salyut space stations. But unlike those, it is outfitted mainly as an accommodation module. Also, Mir carries at one end a spherical docking module housing five docking ports. There is another docking port at the other end, allowing up to six extra units to dock with it. These are the experimental modules in which the main scientific work on Mir is carried out. The first experimental module, Kvant 1, docked with the Mir core unit in December 1989. And by the end of 1992 a further two units were in place, Kvant 2 and Kristall; the attachment of two further units, Spektr and Priroda, was imminent. Plans have also been made for the launch of a second-generation Mir, Mir 2. And then the two Mirs will be linked together. Later, the first Mir will be abandoned, and Mir 2 will become the core of a new space station complex. If all goes well, one or more of the Russian space shuttle Buran orbiters will be involved in the manipulation of the modules.
