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NASA Report: Mir in Worse Shape Than Reported
A report by NASA's inspector general, requested by a leading member of Congress, states that conditions on the Russian space station Mir are far worse than what American or Russian officials have admitted in recent months or years.
![[image of Shannon Lucid on Mir]](../970915/images2/lucid.jpg)
The report, dated August 29 by NASA Inspector General Roberta Gross but only publicly known September 12, states that American astronauts who have stayed on Mir have had to deal with poor living conditions, including high temperatures and high levels of carbon dioxide, fire hazards, and poor training for American astronauts scheduled to stay on Mir.
The report, based on post-flight interviews with the four Americans who have returned from stays of up to six months on Mir, said the problems were exacerbated by poor communications between Russian and American officials about the status of Mir. "Without knowledge of the problems on Mir or its operating systems," Gross wrote, "NASA cannot fully prepare our astronauts for their mission."
The report detailed several serious problems with Mir. Astronauts complained about high levels of carbon dioxide on the station that would build up due to problems with the oxygen generators and carbon dioxide scrubbers. "When the CO2 concentration was getting too high, it was a little harder to think," Shannon Lucid, who spent six months on Mir in 1996, was quoted as saying in the report. "It was easier to make mistakes."
Problems with the cooling system on Mir were also cited. Jerry Linenger reported that the breakdown of the cooling system during his stay meant that temperatures soared to as high as 35 degrees Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit) for months. In addition, Linenger and his crewmates had to deal with the smell of garbage moved from another module for five weeks.
Other problems noted in the report included fatigue and stress on the crew; fire hazards and the lack of properly labeled and accessible emergency equipment, which became an issue during a flash fire on the station in February; and a lack of training which left one astronaut feeling unqualified to fly the Soyuz capsule should an emergency arise.
Gross's report did not reach a definitive conclusion about the status of the station, citing time restraints, but offered four possible courses of action NASA could undertake. It could choose to maintain the status quo by continuing the series of Mir missions into 1998; remove astronauts from Mir but continue to provide support for the Russian crew; remove astronauts from Mir and let the Russians work out the problems on Mir, with an option to return if conditions improve; and terminate the shuttle-Mir program entirely.
NASA officials had no immediate response to the report, but Russian Space Agency officials lashed out at the report's findings. Russian mission control spokesman Valery Lyndin told the Associated Press that the astronauts' complaints likely arose from "stress and fatigue" they felt during their missions.
"We take breakdowns in space a something which is going to happen and are psychologically ready for them, while Americans perceive them as grave trouble," he said.
The report was requested by House Science Committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). Sensenbrenner had spoken out in past months about continuing to leave astronauts on Mir while the condition of the station appeared to deteriorate.