Soviet Cosmonauts Complete Month on Space Station Mir

Two cosmonauts aboard the Soviet space station Mir have completed their first month in space and are nearly finished with their inspection of the station’s machinery and other equipment, Radio Moscow reported Tuesday.

Cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovev have prepared the loading area near the station’s six docking ports, which can receive transport ships and cargo capsules, the official radio said. Mir, which means peace, was designed to be permanently manned eventually. But space officials said that Kizim and Solovev will not be replaced immediately when they leave the station.

The two cosmonauts were launched aboard the spacecraft Soyuz T-15 on March 13 and docked with Mir two days later. It is not known how long they will stay there.