VALENTINA TERESHKOVA

After being once in space, I was keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.

The missing toothbrush was nothing compared with the fact that the spacecraft was orientated to ascend, not descend. I would have gone up and up instead of going back down to the ground.

I felt fine after 24 hours and asked the state commission to prolong my stay in space to three days. And I carried out the entire schedule. Could I have done that if I had been half-dead?

Of course, it's a dream to go to Mars. I want to find out whether there was life there or not. And if there was, then why did it die out? What sort of catastrophe happened?

Cosmonauts can keep their word like men and women - particularly women.

Once you've been in space, you appreciate how small and fragile the Earth is.

I am very resourceful, as any woman would be.

Russia is still the leader in world space exploration. But its position of leader involves great responsibility - we have no right to lag behind. We can and we must move constantly forward.

To tell her that I joined the parachute club was too hard for me. I didn't want to trouble her; besides, I was not completely sure about the success of my new adventure.

One cannot deny the great role women have played in the world community. My flight was yet another impetus to continue this female contribution.

I think Star City should have Unesco World Heritage status. It will need to be adapted a little bit and made more glamorous than it looks now, but it should definitely be protected for the future.

They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments. After being once in space, I was desperately keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.

More women should actively participate in space flight. There are many well educated women working in the space industry; they are very good candidates.

I love Star City - it is my home.

It doesn't matter what country or what political system you are from. Space brings you together.

You don't think about the danger. The spaceship becomes your home.

I am convinced that the modular structure of the Mir will be the main trend in manned orbital stations development in the next century.

I never aimed to be on television or in the press. We all have a personal life, and being a public figure disrupts that.

It was very difficult to control the descent. At a height of seven kilometres, I catapulted out of my capsule and parachuted down to Earth. I was very familiar with parachutes because I was a sky diver before.

We didn't have rest days or weekends because we had to get ready as fast as possible, so we could beat the Americans, who were also racing to send a woman into space.

I would enjoy flying to Mars. This was the dream of the first cosmonauts. I wish I could realize it! I am ready to fly without coming back.

There was a lake beneath me, but the big, heavy parachute which had to be opened two miles above the ground couldn't be steered. My first thought was, 'Lord, they send just one woman into space, and she has to end up in the water.'

If women can be railroad workers in Russia, why can't they fly in space?

A bird cannot fly with one wing only. Human space flight cannot develop any further without the active participation of women.

I would not say that female cosmonauts are not welcomed in the Russian space program. I must say, however, that all spaceflight hardware, including spacesuits and spacecraft comfort assuring systems, were designed mostly by men and for men.