Mark Shuttleworth: Russia changes my vision of life

South Africa's businessman Mark Shuttleworth, space tourist No.2, opened this Tuesday's news conference in the Star City with the words that Russia had changed him completely, with his eyes now shining, his comprehension and perception of life altered and his conviction getting ever stronger that he would never forget what happened in his life over the past year. It was a briefing of the cosmonauts who returned on May 6 from the international space station and who spoke at the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre Shuttleworth was uncertain whether he would be able to write a book about his flight which, in his opinion, required serious reflections. He was also uncertain whether he would link his future with the cosmos as he believed that such flights should pursue the aim of scientific research calling for very good training-not only physical. He noted that the embryos of two sheep and a mouse he had experimented with on board the station survived and returned to earth. The South African tourist also reported about his desire to buy the space suit he had used in flight and a mock-up of the landing capsule. It was because he wanted the people of his country to get familiar with this spectacular space technology. He was going to deliver lectures on his flight to draw South African youth to the romanticism of space flights. He admitted he had been impressed by the beauty of Earth, especially by the descent which was like a race in a fiery ball along bumps and holes. Mark also praised Russia's experts and reliable space hardware. An announcement was made that an official welcome of the members of the expedition to the international space station-captain Yury Gidzenko, Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori and South African tourist Mark Shuttleworth will be held in the Star City on May 17, following the crew's post-flight rehabilitation.