Helen Sharman’s Cutlery
Helen Sharman’s Cutlery
This spoon and fork in a yellow nylon case with Velcro around the edges was used by Helen Sharman on board the Mir space station in 1991. The food on Mir came in a variety of forms, such as rehydratable packs, cans and tubes.Weightlessness makes mealtimes more difficult than on Earth. Astronauts must be careful when opening their food packages so as not to allow anything to escape and float around the station. Moisture in the food helps it stick together and to the sides of the packaging. This allows the astronauts to eat the food directly from the packet using a fork or spoon.
Helen became the first British person to travel into space, during her stay aboard Mir. As part of the Anglo-Soviet Project Juno mission, Helen had responded to an advert seeking an astronaut, ‘no experience necessary.' After being selected ahead of 12,000 other candidates, she received training at the Soviet Union’s cosmonaut training facility at Star City. She launched on 18 May 1991, forever etching her name into the history of British exploration.
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More information
Object number
L2001-35
Location
Into Space Gallery
Has this object been into space?
Yes
Dimension - Dimension, Value, Measurement unit
Depth: 0.5cm
Height: 30.0cm
Width: 50.0cm
Material
Stainless Steel
Velcro
Nylon
Object Production Date
Circa 1991
Object Production Place
Russia
Credit Line
On loan from Dr Helen Sharman CMG OBE FRSC
On Display Status
On display
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