arch 22 marked the one-year anniversary of a continuous U.S. presence in space, which began with the launch of astronaut Shannon Lucid aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-76 mission to the Mir space station. Astronauts John Blaha and Jerry Linenger have followed in Lucid's footsteps, conducting continuous scientific experiments aboard the Russian complex as a precursor to the development and occupancy of the International Space Station.

Linenger remained on board until mid-May when he was replaced by astronaut Mike Foale, who, in turn, will be replaced by astronaut Wendy Lawrence in September. The final U.S. astronaut scheduled for Mir is David Wolf in early 1998.

Former astronaut Norm Thagard was the first U.S. astronaut to live and work on Mir for four months in 1995. Lucid spent a U.S.-record 188 days in space.