Intro

Today we speak to the first British astronaut Helen Sharman.

Helen went to space in 1991 after responding to a radio advert calling for people to apply to become Britain’s first astronaut. After 18 months of intensive training she spent eight days in space conducting experiments.

Adam and Helen talk about living in the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, whether humans really will make it to Mars in the next decade, and the Nasa astronauts stuck in space.

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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Gray with Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.