Explanation:
This
dream-like image
of Mir
was recorded by astronauts as the space shuttle orbiter
Atlantis
approached the Russian space station prior to docking during
the STS-76 mission in 1996.
Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels,
Mir resembles a whimsical flying insect hovering about 350 kilometers
above New Zealand's
South Island and the city of Nelson
near Cook Strait.
Mir was
launched 20 years ago this week, and served as a
continuously occupied
orbital
outpost until August 1999.
Mir was visited by over 100 spacefarers from
the nations of planet Earth including,
Russia, the United States, Great Britain,
Germany, France, Japan, Austria,
Kazakhstan and Slovakia.
The Mir was deorbited in March 2001.
