Marco Polo
Marco Polo was Roberto Vittori's first spaceflight and a short-duration visiting mission to the International Space Station. The crew launched from Baikonur on Soyuz TM-34 on April 25, 2002, docked with the ISS two days later, and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-33 on May 5 after exchanging the station's Soyuz lifeboat. The mission carried Russian commander Yuri Gidzenko, ESA/ASI astronaut Roberto Vittori, and South African private spaceflight participant Mark Shuttleworth.
Identity
- Aliases
- Soyuz TM-34 Marco PoloSoyuz TM-34 taxi flightISS visiting crew 4S
- Name
- Marco Polo
- Slug
- marco-polo
- Status
- completed
Details
- Description
- Marco Polo was Roberto Vittori's first spaceflight and a short-duration visiting mission to the International Space Station. The crew launched from Baikonur on Soyuz TM-34 on April 25, 2002, docked with the ISS two days later, and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-33 on May 5 after exchanging the station's Soyuz lifeboat. The mission carried Russian commander Yuri Gidzenko, ESA/ASI astronaut Roberto Vittori, and South African private spaceflight participant Mark Shuttleworth.
- End Date
- 2002-05-05
- Launch Site Id
- qh7ejhef8vbxy7pczrvc60wyms89t64m
- Outcome
- Completed. Soyuz TM-34 delivered the visiting crew to the ISS, replaced Soyuz TM-33 as the station rescue spacecraft, and the crew returned safely aboard Soyuz TM-33 after a 9-day mission.
- Program
- International Space Station
- Space Station Id
- ms7vrdmhtb6vsyh53zc92thbc984p323
- Start Date
- 2002-04-25
- Vehicle Family Ids
- nd7nvfq53pzm44tb1dhkrdz44x85j2z7
- Vehicle Id
- nh7nvxhp2c4xd2chzwznj7p8m18a57sc
Links
- Wikipedia Url
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TM-34
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- 7/8/2026, 8:54:05 AM
- Updated Time
- 7/8/2026, 8:54:05 AM
Other
- Affiliations
- Organization Id
- vh756eynjphsz33mrqgh7yb4297nmdf3
- Role
- ESA mission partner
- Organization Id
- vh755p5pwthhjhazfk32mfg14s7nhj5r
- Role
- Italian mission partner
- Organization Id
- vh7c9dcm6eswqyvh2vsqq53es57ngjhr
- Role
- Soyuz operator
- Organization Id
- jd7dv3axkrx8pnhy2vn2rf5gj97nzxxb
- Role
- Private spaceflight provider
- Crew
- Astronaut Id
- td7f7mkver0bnag24gvk0gzm4d8a24vr
- Role
- Commander
- Astronaut Id
- td7acdcd1c5sjh7fzwsr3rbce589vjfj
- Role
- Flight Engineer / ESA Marco Polo mission
- Astronaut Id
- td79f6qwwsmc5dzzj7p3awvnwd8a50vv
- Role
- Spaceflight Participant