Cosmonauts

From the Russian town of Kaluga, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) dreamed of escaping the Earth's gravity and colonising the Milky Way. By the turn of the 20th century, he had envisioned both the philosophical and scientific foundations of cosmonautics.

Tsiolkovsky's vivid imagination produced the first portrayal of spacesuits, multi-stage rockets, satellites and orbital space stations. He illustrated calculations for the rockets that would carry humans to and from distant planets, as well as the life-support systems that would allow us to live and work in space.

More than simple fantasy, Tsiolkovsky provided future generations with the fundamentals of space flight.

Much of Russia's early space research was achieved through self-organised groups, which ran outside of the state-controlled science and culture. Russians from diverse backgrounds were inspired to exchange ideas about space travel, producing posters, pamphlets, articles, art objects such as this painting by Ilya Chashnik, and exhibitions on the subject.

They formed clubs where they experimented in rocketry. With few industrial resources at hand, some even melted down household cutlery to build rockets. Years before the first viable space rocket, these enthusiasts were determined to portray the possibilities for human space travel.

During its 22 days in orbit, Sputnik 1 passed over almost all the inhabited areas of the Earth. Sputnik, which translates as 'fellow traveller', held a dual radio transmitter package. As it circled the globe it transmitted a signal - 'beep... beep... beep' - that relayed the change in atmospheric pressure and temperature inside the object. This gave important indications for the possibility of sustaining life in space, and could also be picked up by radio listeners on Earth.

The challenge of delivering a simple satellite into orbit and tracking its modulating signal was a historical event, leading to a new era whose citizens were wide awake to the possibilities of space flight.

Before humans ventured into space, dogs were flown inside the spacecraft. Man's best friends were picked to lead the way to the stars for their obedience and amiable temperament. Laika, the first living creature to experience orbital space travel, flew on a one-way mission inside Sputnik 2 in 1957, proving that living beings can cope with space flight.

Another dog crew consisted of Belka and Strelka, both making a safe return. Strelka gave birth to a litter of six. One puppy, Pushinka (which means 'feather'), was given as a gift to US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy by Nikita Khrushchev.

Beginning with Yuri Gagarin's monumental first space flight, two consecutive Russian manned programmes launched one world record after another. Flying second aboard Vostok 2, cosmonaut Gherman Titov was the first to spend 24 hours in space. The Vostok 3 and 4 missions were the first to orbit the Earth simultaneously. Vostok 6, the last of the series, carried the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova.

The Voskhod programme modified the original craft so that it could carry more cosmonauts. Voskhod 1 took the first three-member crew, a diverse group that included a pilot, a medic and an engineer.

Alexei Leonov (born 1934), an accomplished artist and talented pilot, was one of the original group of 20 Soviet cosmonauts. He was the first to perform a spacewalk, when he climbed out of the hatch of the Voskhod 2 capsule on 18 March 1965. Leonov's 12 minutes in open space have been the subject of many of his paintings and drawings.

In 1975, Leonov flew on the first joint flight between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Soyuz-Apollo mission. He took a box of pencils with him, producing drawings of the Earth as observed from the spacecraft and portraits of his international crewmates.

The secret Luna programme initially planned to reach the Moon one year ahead of NASA's Apollo. It consisted of two manned missions: the first would send a crew into orbit around the Moon, while the second would land a cosmonaut on the lunar surface.

The Luna missions required the development of a new N1 rocket, but it was these rockets' repeated engine failures that brought the project to an end. In light of America's success, the programme was cancelled. Nonetheless, the Soviets successfully launched unmanned rovers and robotic probes, which brought back some of the first images and samples of the lunar surface.

Sergei Korolev led the Soviet space programme through its formative era, but during his lifetime he was never named as the 'Chief Designer'. After years of momentous success, Korolev's health began to deteriorate. Complications during an operation to remove a tumour ended his life abruptly at the age of 59 in 1966.

Having ultimately been credited as Chief Designer in his obituary, Korolev received a state funeral. His passing left behind a huge gap of vision, technical expertise and political awareness in the space community.

Inside the space station there is no difference between floor and ceiling, and yet cosmonauts have to sleep, eat and work within its tight confines. Re-imagining these everyday activities for life in weightlessness is a work of both science and the imagination.

Sleeping bags are tied to the walls to simulate the sensation of lying in bed. Methods such as vacuum suction and Velcro fastenings are used to keep things from floating away, while the subtleties of using a space toilet require special training. These seemingly routine functions require unique ingenuity in orbit.

Human bodies need protection from the harsh conditions of outer space. The space station provides the barrier necessary to guard the body from the radiation and extreme temperatures.

Yet cosmonauts' bodies are still affected by this new environment. Protective gear can regulate body temperature, or assist in an emergency. Specialised garments can help maintain strength by binding the body in weightlessness. Trousers, belts and exercise equipment are all used to train the body for its inevitable return to Earth.

Helen Sharman (born 1963) was 26 years old when she responded to a radio advertisement recruiting the first British cosmonaut. Having made it to the top of the candidates list, Sharman left her job as a chocolate researcher at Mars confectionery, and became the first Briton to travel to space and the first woman aboard the Mir space station.

After a year of intensive training at the Yuri Gagarin training centre she launched on the Soyuz TM-12 mission with crewmates Sergei Krikalev and Anatoly Artsebarsky. Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had both personally sponsored the mission, in honour of cooperation between the two countries.

Although the technical design of the first space stations proved to be successful and durable over the course of many missions, the human experience on board has been an ongoing experiment. Russian cosmonauts have been sent on long-duration missions since the early 1970s and they continue to produce new knowledge about life in space.

Back-to-back crews stay for months at a time, filling their weightless days with research, exercise, communication with people on Earth and upkeep of the station. In the isolation of the space station, cosmonauts and astronauts learn how to battle with technical difficulties and not with each other.