Editing Ulf Merbold (section)

== Euromir 94 mission ==
[[File:Mir as seen from Discovery during STS-63.jpg|thumb|right|Soyuz TM-20 docked to Mir|alt=A spacecraft docked to the [[Mir]] space station, in front of a dark space background]]
{{main|Euromir}}
In November 1992, ESA decided to start cooperating with Russia on human spaceflight. The aim of this collaboration was to gain experience in long-duration spaceflights, which were not possible with NASA at the time,{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} and to prepare for the construction of the ''[[Columbus (ISS module)|Columbus]]'' module of the ISS.<ref name="DLR">{{Cite web |title=DLR – German astronaut Ulf Merbold |url=https://www.dlr.de/content/en/articles/missions-projects/german-astronauts/ulf-merbold.html |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=DLRARTICLE DLR Portal |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331215112/https://www.dlr.de/content/en/articles/missions-projects/german-astronauts/ulf-merbold.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ESA1994">{{Cite web|title=EUROMIR 94 heralds new era of cooperation in space|url=https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/EUROMIR_94_heralds_new_era_of_cooperation_in_space|date=28 September 1994|access-date=31 March 2022|website=esa.int|language=en|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331222716/https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/EUROMIR_94_heralds_new_era_of_cooperation_in_space|url-status=live}}</ref> On 7 May 1993, Merbold and the Spanish astronaut [[Pedro Duque]] were chosen as candidates to serve as the ESA astronaut on the first [[Euromir]] mission, Euromir 94.{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}}

Along with other potential Euromir 95 astronauts, German [[Thomas Reiter]] and Swedish [[Christer Fuglesang]], in August 1993 Merbold and Duque began training at [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]] in [[Star City, Russia]], after completing preliminary training at the [[European Astronaut Centre]], Cologne.<ref name="ESA2004" />{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} On 30 May 1994, it was announced Merbold would be the primary astronaut and Duque would serve as his backup.{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} Equipment with a mass of {{Convert|140|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} for the mission was sent to ''[[Mir]]'' on the [[Progress M-24]] transporter, which failed to dock and collided with ''Mir'' on 30 August 1994, successfully docking only under manual control from ''Mir'' on 2 September.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=477}}

Merbold launched with commander [[Aleksandr Viktorenko]] and flight engineer [[Yelena Kondakova]] on [[Soyuz TM-20]] on 4 October 1994, 1:42&nbsp;a.m. Moscow time.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=478}} Merbold became the second person to launch on both American and Russian spacecraft{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} after cosmonaut [[Sergei Krikalev]], who had flown on Space Shuttle mission [[STS-60]] in February 1994 after several Soviet and Russian spaceflights. During docking, the computer on board Soyuz TM-20 malfunctioned but Viktorenko managed to dock manually.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=479}} The cosmonauts then joined the existing ''Mir'' crew of [[Yuri Malenchenko]], [[Talgat Musabayev]] and [[Valeri Polyakov]],{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} expanding the crew to six people for 30 days.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=478}}

On board ''Mir'', Merbold performed 23 life sciences experiments, 4 materials science experiments, and other experiments.<ref name="euromir">{{Cite web |title=EUROMIR 94 |url=https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/EUROMIR_94 |access-date=1 April 2022 |website=esa.int |language=en |archive-date=23 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323174136/https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/EUROMIR_94 |url-status=live }}</ref> For one experiment designed to study the [[vestibular system]], Merbold wore a helmet that recorded his motion and his eye movements.{{sfn|Clery|1994|p=25}} On 11 October, a power loss disrupted some of these experiments{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=91}} but power was restored after the station was reoriented to point the solar array toward the Sun.<ref name="euromir" /> The ground team rescheduled Merbold's experiments but a malfunction of a Czech-built materials processing furnace caused five of them to be postponed until after Merbold's return to Earth.<ref name="euromir" /> None of the experiments were damaged by the power outage.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=480}}

Merbold's return flight with Malenchenko and Musabayev on [[Soyuz TM-19]] was delayed by one day to experiment with the automated docking system that had failed on the Progress transporter.{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=480}} The test was successful and on 4 November, Soyuz TM-19 de-orbited, carrying the three cosmonauts and {{Convert|16|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of Merbold's samples from the biological experiments, with the remainder to return later on the Space Shuttle.<ref name="euromir" /> The [[STS-71]] mission was also supposed to return a bag containing science videotapes created by Merbold but this bag was lost.{{sfn|Vis|2000|p=92}} The landing of Soyuz TM-19 was rough; the cabin was blown off-course by {{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=out|spell=in}} and bounced after hitting the ground.{{sfn|Harvey|1996|p=368}}{{sfn|Hall|Shayler|2003|p=349}} None of the crew were hurt during landing.{{sfn|Hall|Shayler|2003|p=349}}

[[File:Stamp of Kazakhstan 086.jpg|thumb|right|[[Yuri Malenchenko]], [[Talgat Musabayev]] and Ulf Merbold on a 1995 Kazakh stamp|alt=Refer to caption]]
During his three spaceflights—the most of any German national—Merbold has spent 49 days in space.<ref name="ESA_sts9">{{Cite web |title=Ulf Merbold: STS-9 Payload Specialist |url=https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/Ulf_Merbold_STS-9_Payload_Specialist |access-date=1 April 2022 |website=esa.int |language=en |archive-date=1 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401215851/https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/Ulf_Merbold_STS-9_Payload_Specialist |url-status=live }}</ref>