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Astronaut dreams of Mars trip
07/03/2007 13:53 - (SA)
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| Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, celebrated her 70th birthday on March 6. (Dmitry Astakhov, ITAR-TASS, AP) |
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Moscow - The world's first female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova, who marked her 70th birthday on Tuesday, says she still dreams of flying to Mars - even on a one-way ticket.
In June 1963, 25-year-old Tereshkova spent 71 hours in orbit
on board a Soviet Vostok spacecraft, earning a niche in the
history books and scoring propaganda points for the Soviet Union
in its Cold War space rivalry with the United States.
The story of the peasant's daughter who became a household
name thanks to communism's achievements made her a role model
for young Soviet women. Her photograph smiling from a space suit
became an icon.
President Vladimir Putin, who invited Tereshkova to his
residence near Moscow to mark her birthday, said her flight
remained an inspiration for the resurgent Russia of today.
"Your flight was, and will remain, a matter of pride for the
Soviet people, for the Russian people," he told Tereshkova who
sported the gold star of the Hero of the Soviet Union on her
black suit.
Tereshkova all but disappeared from public life after the
Soviet Union collapsed and now heads an obscure international
co-operation association under the auspices of the foreign
ministry and takes part in private projects helping orphans.
"I want you to know I will serve the country to the end,"
she told Putin.
But in an interview with Komsomoskaya Pravda daily published
on Tuesday she disclosed another cherished dream.
"If I had money, I would enjoy flying to Mars," she said.
"This was the dream of the first cosmonauts. I wish I could
realise it! I am ready to fly without coming back."
- Reuters
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