At 1900 hours (7:00 p.m.) you have supper. You've developed a liking for the
Russian meat-and-potato casserole (after rehydrating it, of course). As for the
cosmonauts, they like anything as long as they can cover it with the packets of
American mayonnaise that NASA has sent up with you.
After supper, you've got to clean up (just like back on Earth). Collecting
trash, organizing the food supply, sponging up water and dealing with clutter
is a constant concern on Mir. The Russian Progress spacecraft bring new
equipment and supplies every few months. Although human waste and trash can be
sent back on the Progress, which simply burns up on reentry into the
atmosphere, there is no room for the old scientific equipment. You and your
colleagues are in charge when it comes to finding places to store things.
The last comm pass of the day is between 2200 and 2300 hours (10 p.m. and 11
p.m.). You look over the new Form 24 for the next day's work, say goodnight to
your crewmates, and float out of Base Block and back into the
Kvant-2's airlock, your private cabin.
If you're lucky you have time to type a letter home on your computer; the next
day you'll use a ham radio packet system to send them to the ground
controllers, who will e-mail them to your family.
A Day in the Life: 7 p.m.