Russian cosmonauts land on QVC

Two Mir cosmonauts demonstrate a gravity-defying pen by scrawling QVC on a pad for television viewers

February 7, 1998
Web posted at: 5:01 p.m. EST (2201 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- First they conquered space.

Now, Russian cosmonauts are exploring the terrain of television shopping.

The cable shopping channel QVC on Saturday brought two cosmonauts to the airwaves live via satellite from the Mir space station. The spacemen tested the $32.72 "Zero Gravity Fisher Space Pen" to show that it actually works in space.

"We contacted the Russian space program and said, 'Would you mind demonstrating it and educating the customer on how this pen works, and how it is useful in space?'" said Fred Siegel, senior vice president of marketing for QVC.

Space sale 2 min. VXtreme video

"They said, 'Absolutely, we would love to do it.'"

Home shoppers also got a chance to buy rocks from Mars and genuine Russian-made Sokol KV-2 spacesuits for $25,000 apiece. Each weighs 22 pounds and comes with boots, gloves, pressurized hood and "all the fittings," QVC said.

The Russians weren't alone in hawking wares on TV.

Meteorite dealer Darryl Pitt offered meteorites from Mars for $650 to $2,500.

"To own a piece of Mars -- I mean it's the only thing you can see in the night sky and have a piece of," Pitt said. "Everything else that you see is transient. So to have a piece of Mars is something that captures the imaginations of quite a lot of people."

An undisclosed sum from the sales will be donated to the financially strapped Russian space agency, according to QVC.

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