Record-breaking Russian Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov died at 80

A Russian cosmonaut, Valery Polyakov, holding the record for the longest trip to space has died aged 80.

Valery spent 437 days orbiting the Earth on the Mir space station between 1994 and 1995. He worked on experiments to see if people can maintain mental health if they had to make a long journey to Mars. In the test, no impairment was found in his cognitive function as a result of this fourteen-month expedition.

Using Valery’s honorary title Russian space agency announced his death.  They also called him a hero of the Soviet Union and pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR. Roscosmos, an agency, added in a Telegram post that Cosmonaut Valery’s research had helped to prove that the human body can handle flights also into deep space, beyond Earth's orbit.

Polyakov was born in 1942 in Tula, a city in Moscow. He qualified first as a physician and then as a cosmonaut. In August 1988, Polyakov was launched on his first mission and he spent eight months in orbit. But his flight six years later earned him the record for the longest trip to space, still standing today. He died at 80 but the cause of his death was not disclosed.