U.S. astronaut says he loves Mir

In this story:

• Plans to leave 'cleaner than when I came'
• Preparing for spacewalk
• Russian doctor: Space no protector of health
• Related stories and sites

(CNN) -- After two weeks aboard Mir, U.S. astronaut David Wolf said keeping the aging Russian space station clean is a constant effort, but he's ready to sign up for a second tour of duty.

"I've enjoyed the mission so far," he said during a live interview Thursday. "In fact, I'm thinking of asking where I sign up for a second increment."

The 41-year-old Indiana native answered questions from CNN correspondent John Holliman, who is on assignment in Moscow. "The mission is going great," Wolf said. "We've had two weeks of very heavy activity in the science area."

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to stay very busy here."

Plans to leave 'cleaner than when I came'

Sounds from the live CNN interview with David Wolf from Mir "Surpassed my wildest expectations ... " 315K/28 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Facing the challenge of normal living 221K/19 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

David Wolf on Mir, interviewed by CNN's John Holliman 5 min. 10 sec. VXtreme video

Asked if he's been surprised by anything at the start of his four-month mission, Wolf noted "how good the atmosphere is" aboard Mir. "The air is very fresh and clean. The temperature is good. We're able to stay clean, although hygiene is something you have to continuously work at up here."

"I've taken it on as a particular project to keep the air filters clean. All the dust and particles float through the air and the air filters clog up very quickly. It's a lot of work to keep them clean," Wolf said.

"I plan to leave this station a bit better and cleaner than when I came."

The 11-year-old orbiter was plagued by a variety of potentially life-threatening problems in the months before Wolf's arrival, but the U.S. astronaut said the experience has surpassed his "wildest expectations."

"This station is a piece of history. It has character built into it that has accumulated over the years. It's just a fabulous piece of equipment."

Preparing for a spacewalk

Also on Thursday, Wolf and his two crewmates were preparing for a spacewalk to juice up weak solar batteries and improve the space station's energy supply.

The two Russian cosmonauts are to spend five and one-half hours Monday in the depressurized Spektr module, which was punctured when a cargo ship slammed into it during a practice docking in June. They hope to connect the Spektr's solar batteries to an orientation system located in another module.

Two more spacewalks are planned for next month. Spacewalkers are expected to remove an aging solar battery on Mir's Kvant-1 module on November 3, then install a new one in its place three days later.

Doctor: Space travel is bad for you

Meanwhile Thursday, a doctor working with Russia's Mission Control said being in space takes a toll an astronaut's health. "Practically all aspects of space flight have a negative influence on a person's health," Igor Goncharov told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency.

Goncharov, whose Institute of Biomedical Problems oversees the medical aspects of Russian space flight, said that despite meticulous medical preparations there was no 100 percent guarantee that cosmonauts would not succumb to various illnesses.

Travel sickness is common, especially in the early days of a flight, resulting in nausea, headaches and dizziness. Heart problems are not unusual, he said.

"The well-known case with Vasily Tsibliyev is far from being the first; it is all linked to the stress brought to bear on the organism over a long period of time," Goncharov said.

Commander Tsibliyev, who returned to Earth in August after one of the toughest assignments in Mir's history, began suffering heart irregularities after June's supply ship collision.

Doctors said his cardiac problems were stress-related.

"Cosmonauts are different from people in other professions because they are constantly on operational duty and have no breaks," Goncharov said.

Doctors prescribe a wide array of medicines to the cosmonauts, including sedatives, he said. But he added that cosmonauts stop taking sedatives two days before a space walk or a docking because they inhibit decision-making.

Correspondent John Holliman and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

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