RUSSIA/SPACE: RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY PREPARES FINAL CRASH COURSE FOR MIR AMID FEARS THAT MUTATED MICRO-ORGANISMS FROM SPACE STATION COULD FALL ON EARTH
Record ID:
383717
RUSSIA/SPACE: RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY PREPARES FINAL CRASH COURSE FOR MIR AMID FEARS THAT MUTATED MICRO-ORGANISMS FROM SPACE STATION COULD FALL ON EARTH
- Title: RUSSIA/SPACE: RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY PREPARES FINAL CRASH COURSE FOR MIR AMID FEARS THAT MUTATED MICRO-ORGANISMS FROM SPACE STATION COULD FALL ON EARTH
- Date: 7th March 2001
- Summary: KOROLYOV, RUSSIA (MARCH 07, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. TV: RUSSIAN MISSION CONTROL ROOM / CU MODEL OF MIR / PEOPLE WORKING AT DESKS (3 SHOTS) 0.14 2. WIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCE /SV MEDIA (2 SHOTS) 0.24 3. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VICTOR BLAGOV, DEPUTY FLIGHT OPERATOR FOR MIR, SAYING: "We need 24 hours to prepare the station to go down to earth, so the sinking is planned for March 20th and we begin to position the station on March 19th." 0.47 SPACE (REUTERS - FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 4. VARIOUS: COSMONAUTS DOING BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON MIR SPACE STATION(5 SHOTS) 1.14 MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 07, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 5. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUSSIAN SPACE EXPERT YURI KARASH: "This [the danger of micro-organisms] is a very serious problem that needs to be addressed, especially in the view of the upcoming International Space Station." 1.22 6. SCU: MODEL OF MIR SPACE STATION 1.28 7. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) KARASH: "I would not like to speculate, [but] so far we know that such a problem exists and that even quite harmless, not to say innocent, earth fungi and bacteri mutate on board Mir space station. To what degree they will mutate, to what degree they will become really dangerous for human beings, we don't know. We just want to continute our search in this direction." 2.04 SPACE (REUTERS - FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 8. VARIOUS OF COSMONAUTS ON BOARD MIR (4 SHOTS) 2.21 9. INTER-ELEMENTAL: MIR SPACE STATION ORBITING EARTH (3 SHOTS) 2.36 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd March 2001 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW + KOROLYOV, RUSSIA /IN SPACE
- City:
- Country: SPACE Russia
- Reuters ID: LVA4JVEZNMPL57EV2HAYS5TF6MG8
- Story Text: The Russian Space Agency is plotting the final crash
course for the ageing space station Mir as an expert on the
Russian space programme warned that there is a possibility
that mutated micro-organisms from Mir could fall on Earth.
Russian Mission Control said on Wednesday (March 07)
that it expected Mir to come down to earth by March 20th.
Viktor Blagov, Mir deputy flight operator said: " We need
24 hours to prepare the station to go down to earth so the
sinking is planned for March 20th and we begin to position the
station on March 19th."
The 15-year-old station, once the pride of the Soviet space
programme, is supposed to splash down some 3,000 km (1,850
miles) east of New Zealand's southern tip and away from major
sea and air routes.
Most of the craft should be burned up by friction during
its journey through the atmosphere, but up to 40 tonnes of
debris are expected to splash onto the ocean.
Space expert Yuri Karash sparked new fears by suggesting
that scientists did not know the exact effects that Mir's
crash would have from a biological standpoint.
Karash said it was possible that mutant space fungi
clinging to Mir could present a danger if they survived the
space station's passage through the atmosphere.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None