Letters from Mir

by Jerry M. Linenger

Inspiring letters of an embattled astronaut in space to his young son on Earth.In January 1997, astronaut Dr. Jerry Linenger embarked on a “routine” five-month mission to the Russian space station Mir, leaving behind his pregnant wife and 14-month-old son, and the everyday pleasures of planet Earth. Before he left, he promised to write. Though his mission did not go as planned, he kept his word.Linenger’s 132 days aboard the decaying space station were beset by near-fatal glitches that at times left the crew in total darkness, tumbling out of control. Most terrifying was a raging fire that nearly destroyed the station and all on board. It was with this last event, when, with the crew cut off from the world below and locked in a battle for survival, Linenger’s letters to his son changed from a routine chronicle of daily events to the heart-felt, deeply moving story shared here.At the end of each difficult day, Jerry Linenger would fly over to his ceiling-mounted laptop and write to his