Valeri Polyakov
This cosmonaut holds the record for the longest single stay in space
Valeri Polyakov adapted well to life in space. Then again, the cosmonaut spent more than enough time away from our planet to make it feel like a second home, with not one but two lengthy stays in low-Earth orbit.
The first came in 1988 when he resided on the Soviet Union’s Mir space station for 240 days. He arrived there after launching on board Soyuz TM-6 as a doctor-cosmonaut on 29 August 1988 and ventured back on TM-7 in April 1989 after conducting many medical experiments.
But even that paled in comparison to his mammoth stint five years later. Having been on board Mir from 8 January 1994 to 22 March 1995, he set the record for the longest single stay in space – a staggering 437 days and 18 hours. Those 14 months have never been beaten since.