We've lost contact with Mir, Russia's unmanned space station, and now there's talk of a rescue mission to prepare the orbiter for a controlled crash into the ocean. In Moscow this morning, a mission control spokeswoman confirmed that contact with the 15-year-old station had been lost. Although Mir has not carried a crew for months, Russia still needs to maintain contact with the empty orbiter to prevent it falling from space and possibly hitting a populated area. The Mir station has been the pride of Russia's space program for years, giving Moscow by far the world's greatest experience in long-term manned space flight. Earlier this year Russia decided to abandon Mir and focus its resources on the International Space Station, which uses much of Mir's technology. Mir is due to crash into the Pacific Ocean in late February, but this requires carefully guiding the station out of orbit.
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"would you like some snake eyes?"
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"would you like some snake eyes?"