Helen Sharman
Helen Sharman (1963 - ) became the first Briton in space when she spent 8 days on space station Mir in 1991. An unlikely candidate for an astronaut, Helen was working as a research and development chemist at the confectionery company Mars when she heard a radio advertising a chance to become an astronaut.
Project Juno, to which Helen (and 13,000 others) applied, was a collaboration between the Soviet Union and the UK to send a British astronaut into space aboard a Soviet rocket, at a time where the UK had no space programme. Sponsored by a group of UK companies, the programme was advertised as open to everybody, with no experience needed.
Helen made it through all the selection procedures and was one of two finalists to undergo 18 months of intensive training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre near Moscow, including becoming fluent in Russian. Helen was selected as the first choice of cosmonaut and was launched into space on a Soyuz spacecraft to spend 8 days on space station Mir in May 1991.
During her 8 days on board Mir, she carried out various medical and agricultural experiments involving seed growth and protein crystal formation. She also spoke to British school children via a radio connection. Helen was only 27 when she was launched into space and on her return to Earth became a science communicator. Her broadcasts, talks and books have inspired countless future scientists.
“Looking at the Earth from space made me realise the interconnectedness between everything and everyone on that tiny, fragile, and precious blue dot. I realised that, despite our differences, we are all living in the same boat (or spaceship). I felt a sense of responsibility towards our home, to the life and lives it supports. This feeling has stayed with me ever since.”
Helen Sharman