From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: NASA and Russian Space Agency Sign Space Agreements
Followup-To: sci.space
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 23:23:02 GMT

Debra J. Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                          October 6, 1992
(Phone:  202/358-1639)


RELEASE:  92-165

NASA AND RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY SIGN SPACE AGREEMENTS

	NASA and the Russian Space Agency (RSA) have signed two cooperative 
agreements in Moscow, in the areas of human space flight and Mars 
exploration.

	"Signing these two agreements is the next crucial step in expanding 
cooperative space activities with our Russian partners.  We are very anxious to 
begin working on these important programs," said NASA Administrator Daniel 
S. Goldin.

	The Human Space Flight Agreement outlines the flight details of a 
Russian cosmonaut on the U.S. Space Shuttle, the flight of a U.S. astronaut on 
the Russian Mir Space Station and a joint mission including the rendezvous 
and docking of the Space Shuttle with the Mir Space Station.

	The Mars '94 agreement is for the flight of two U.S./NASA scientific 
instruments on the Russian Mars '94 lander.  

	The agreements were signed by Administrator Goldin and RSA Director 
Yuri Koptev during the first annual U.S./Russian Space Policy Consultations.

	Ambassador Frank Wisner, Under Secretary of State, headed the U.S. 
delegation and met with Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials to review 
the U.S./Russian space relationship.   

Human Space Flight Cooperation Agreement

	An experienced cosmonaut will fly aboard the STS-60 Space Shuttle 
mission, scheduled for launch in November 1993.  RSA has nominated Col. 
Vladimir G. Titov and Sergei K. Krikalev as the two cosmonauts who will 
undergo mission specialist training.

	One cosmonaut will be designated the prime crewmember and the 
other designated backup crewmember.  The cosmonauts are scheduled for 
arrival at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, in October 1992.  

	A NASA astronaut will fly on a long-duration (more than 90 days) Mir 
Space Station flight.  The flight's timing will coincide with a Shuttle docking 
flight in 1995.  The astronaut will be flown to the Mir on a Soyuz spacecraft.  
The astronaut's duties will focus on science, particularly life sciences, as well 
as engineering and operational objectives.

	Two NASA astronauts will receive full cosmonaut training with their 
cosmonaut crewmates at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Facility "Star 
City" near Moscow.  They will begin training no later than 12 months prior to 
the agreed flight date.  One astronaut will be selected as the prime 
crewmember and the other will be designated backup crewmember.

	NASA will transport two cosmonauts in the Space Shuttle to replace the 
two cosmonauts on board Mir.  Life sciences experiments, involving the NASA 
astronaut and the two cosmonauts on board the Mir, will be conducted while 
the Shuttle and Mir are docked.  The NASA astronaut and the two cosmonauts 
who have been on the Mir will be returned in the Shuttle to the United States 
for continued post-flight life sciences experiments. 

NASA Participation in the Russian Mars '94 Mission

	The primary objective of this mission is to carry out further joint 
exploration of planet Mars in conjunction with the Russian Mars '94 mission.  
This may provide the opportunity for U.S. scientific instruments to be carried 
aboard the Russian spacecraft.  This cooperation could significantly enhance 
the present Mars '94 mission and provide critical data for future human and 
robotic Mars missions.  

	One U.S. instrument is the Soil Magnetic Properties Experiment, and 
the other is the Soil Reactivity/Composition Experiment.  These will enable 
scientists to characterize the Martian physical and chemical surface 
environment.  

	The soil magnetic properties experiment will use a magnet to collect 
and measure the magnetic minerals in the Martian soil.  The soil 
reaction/composition experiment will provide chemical information about the 
volatile components in the Martian soil.

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     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Einstein's brain is stored
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | in a mason jar in a lab
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | in Wichita, Kansas.