Mir EO-23

Mir EO-23 was a Mir long-duration expedition centered on Vasili Tsibliyev and Aleksandr Lazutkin, who launched from Baikonur on Soyuz TM-25 on February 10, 1997 with German research cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald for the EuroMir 97 program. Ewald conducted a short-duration research mission and returned on Soyuz TM-24 with the outgoing Mir EO-22 crew, while Jerry Linenger continued his Shuttle-Mir residency and Michael Foale later arrived on STS-84 to replace him. The expedition became one of Mir's most difficult operating periods, including an onboard fire, demanding maintenance work, Shuttle-Mir crew exchanges, and the Progress M-34 collision that damaged the Spektr module. Tsibliyev and Lazutkin returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-25 on August 14, 1997; Foale continued aboard Mir into the following expedition.