Astronaut Diaries - Year in Space

The first episode of the Year in Space series explains how astronauts prepare for their spaceflight, how a spacecraft is assembled and what happens at the launching site during the week before a mission start. Closing the episode is a unique footage of the spacecraft's launch, shot from eight different angles. No TV viewer has ever seen a spacecraft's launch this close.

The second episode of the series focuses on the International Space Station, the space home of astronauts, its crew quarters and laboratories. What is the station equipped with? What does it allow to do? Mikhail Kornienko and Gennadi Padalka will show you every nook of the orbital station.

Journeys to the space station would not be possible without cargo spacecrafts. They provide the orbital complex with fuel, water and air. They also deliver science equipment, medical supplies and food for the crew. In the third episode of our TV project you'll see astronauts meeting a cargo ship and preparing for their journey back home.

The fourth episode of the Year in Space is all about space kitchen. You will see how to season dishes with salt, how to cook soup and how to drink lemonade or tea in microgravity. We will explain how food is prepared for the ISS and share some secrets of baking space bread.

Spacewalking is the most dangerous work one might need to carry out during the mission on the ISS. In the fifth episode you'll see how Russian cosmonauts prepare for it, why they even need to leave the orbital station, who manufacturers spacesuits and how crew members relax after hard work in outer space.

We’ll get a good look on a unique experiment whereby an ISS crew member will be controlling robots that are located in a scientific laboratory back on Earth. This experiment is part of the program on developing robotic technology for colonizing Earth's natural satellite. Robots that will fly to the Moon are meant to be controlled either from our planet, or from an orbital station.

In the eighth episode Mikhail Kornienko and Sergei Volkov will show you a space work-out. You'll see how to do exercises during space missions, how to run in microgravity and how to lift weights where things don't weigh anything. We'll also explain the purpose of sports in orbit and their role in preparations for returning to Earth.

In the seventh episode we'll find out how New Year is celebrated in space, how to eat in microgravity, how to clean the space station, what's delivered by Progress cargo spacecrafts and what's inside the care packages sent to astronauts by their family.

The ninth episode of our space show focuses on shooting videos and photos in space. You will find out what kind of photo and video equipment is available onboard the space station, why there's so much of it and what's its purpose. You'll get a unique chance to sneak a peek at Earth from the altitude of four hundred kilometers.

The tenth episode is all about psychological issues accompanying a long-term space flight. Mikhail Kornienko will tell us how he gets through them and with whose help. What kind of psychological support is provided for the crew in orbit? Life in microgravity.

The eleventh episode is all about space experiments. You will see what kind of research is conducted in microgravity, how to study cardiovascular system during a long-term flight and how to register eyesight changes that take place in the course of the space expedition. Also, we'll show you the most cruel experiment which involves inflicting pain.

The episode gives an insight into the public utilities of the space station. We'll talk about the water and power supply on the International Space Station. Cosmonauts will also explain how water from Earth finds its way to the space station and how many solar panels are needed to ensure lighting and heating on the station.

The thirteenth episode is focused on Mikhail Kornienko's return to Earth. You will see the last hours of his year-long mission – an unparalleled experiment in the history of the ISS. We'll show you the unique footage shot by the astronauts in the descent module during re-entry. Also, we'll cover in detail the work of search and rescue teams who evacuate astronauts from the landing site.

Mikhail Kornienko is back on Earth. Doctors and scientists have been all over him almost straight after landing. First tests were conducted right at the landing site of the descent module. All of them aim to understand the abilities of a human after such a long spaceflight. What should be changed and improved, considering that the next frontier of humanity in space would most likely be Mars?