{"id":549303,"date":"2026-09-24T02:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=92641528a3cd5c21ee89f867d7b38a8d"},"modified":"2026-09-24T02:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:03:37","slug":"shannon-lucids-record-setting-mission-aboard-mir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=549303","title":{"rendered":"Shannon Lucid\u2019s Record-Setting Mission Aboard Mir"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Astronaut Shannon W. Lucid checked on wheat plants aboard Russia\u2019s Mir Space Station on Sept. 23, 1996. Lucid left Mir later that day along with the rest of the STS-79 crew except for John E. Blaha, who was beginning a four-month stay aboard the station.<\/div>\n
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Shannon Lucid\u2019s Record-Setting Mission Aboard Mir<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

Three days before returning to Earth, Shannon W. Lucid\u2014who joined NASA in 1978 as one of its first six female astronauts\u2014checked in on wheat growing in the Svet greenhouse aboard the Russian space station Mir. For six months, Lucid lived and worked alongside two Russian cosmonauts conducting life science studies and other experiments in microgravity.<\/p>\n

Lucid returned to Earth<\/a> aboard space shuttle Atlantis on Sept. 26, 1996, completing a 188-day mission\u2014a new record for both a woman and for an American. Lessons from her time on Mir helped NASA prepare for the psychological and cultural challenges of long-duration missions on the International Space Station.\u202f <\/p>\n

In December 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded Shannon Lucid the Congressional Space Medal of Honor<\/a> for her achievement. She was the tenth person and the first woman to receive this award.<\/p>\n

After her mission on Mir, Lucid continued to serve NASA in key roles on the ground. She worked as a CAPCOM in Mission Control, where she was the primary voice communicating with astronauts in orbit. Later, she served as NASA\u2019s Chief Scientist, helping guide the agency\u2019s science priorities. Lucid retired from NASA in 2012 after a career that spanned more than three decades.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tLearn more about Shannon Lucid\u2019s early life and her NASA career through her NASA oral history interviews<\/span>
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