Helen Sharman

Helen Sharman
Dr. Helen Sharman
Project Juno astronaut
Nationality	British
Born	(1963-05-30) 30 May 1963 (age 53) Sheffield, England
Other occupation	Chemist
Alma mater	University of Sheffield, BSc 1984 Birkbeck, University of London, Ph.D.
Time in space	7d 21h 13m
Selection	1989 Juno
Missions	Soyuz TM-12, Soyuz TM-11
Mission insignia

Dr. Helen Patricia Sharman OBE FRSC (born 30 May 1963) is a British chemist who became the first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station in 1991.

Sharman was born in Grenoside, Sheffield, where she attended Grenoside Junior and Infant School, later moving to Greenhill. After studying at Jordanthorpe Comprehensive, she received a BSc in chemistry at the University of Sheffield in 1984 and a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London. She worked as a research and development technologist for GEC in London and later as a chemist for Mars Incorporated dealing with flavourant properties of chocolate.

After responding to a radio advertisement asking for applicants to be the first British astronaut, Helen Sharman was selected for the mission live on ITV, on 25 November 1989, ahead of nearly 13,000 other applicants. The programme was known as Project Juno and was a cooperative Soviet Union–British mission co-sponsored by a group of British companies.

Sharman was selected in a process that gave weight to scientific, educational and aerospace backgrounds as well as the ability to learn a foreign language. A lottery was one of several schemes used to raise money to underwrite the cost of the flight.

Before flying, Sharman spent 18 months in intensive flight training in Star City. The Project Juno consortium failed to raise the monies expected, and the programme was almost cancelled. With a view towards the flight's impact on international relations, the project proceeded under Soviet expense although as a cost-saving measure, less expensive experiments were substituted for those in the original plans.