MIR wasn’t Jean-Pierre Haigner茅’s favourite place. Asked what the ageing Soviet space station he was staying on smelled and sounded like, the French astronaut said: 鈥淢ir to me sometimes smells like burnt coffee. The background noise is similar to the engine room of a boat or a noisy aeroplane. The numerous fans aboard the station are the primary source of this nuisance, which averages 67 decibels. I have completely forgotten what silence is like.鈥 On whether he had any privacy, his answer was even more definitive: 鈥淣o!鈥
The interview, published in New 精东传媒‘s 4 September 1999 issue,…
