Helen Patricia Sharman
Helen Patricia Sharman is a British chemist and cosmonaut who became the first British person in space, the first Western European woman in space, and the first woman to visit the Mir . Her flight came through Project Juno, a British-Soviet privately supported mission.
- Born
- May 30, 1963
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Sheffield, England,United Kingdom
Flights
1
Spacewalks
N/A
EVA time
N/A
In space
7 days, 21 hours, 13 minutes
Bio
Sharman studied chemistry at the University of Sheffield and earned a doctorate from Birkbeck, University of London. Before astronaut selection, she worked as a research chemist, including food and flavor chemistry work in industry.
Project Juno selected Sharman in 1989 from a large public applicant pool. She trained in Star City for Soyuz and Mir operations and launched on Soyuz TM-12 in May 1991 with Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev.
During her week aboard Mir, Sharman carried out life-science, chemistry, crystal-growth, plant, and school-radio activities. She returned on Soyuz TM-11 with Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov, leaving Krikalev aboard Mir during the final months of the Soviet Union.