1997 was a year in which the aging Russian space station Mir experienced a number of technical problems. So serious were some of these problems that at several stages the joint American-Russian space alliance was put under jeopardy. Outlined below are some of the events that were to mark 1997 as a year to forget in Mir's long eleven year history ...

February
Fire aboard Mir which resulted from lithium perchlorate candles used to supply Oxygen to the Mir space station. The fire, according to American astronaut Jerry Linenger, had almost caused the Mir crew to abandon the station.

March
A supply module almost collided with Mir and also put the Mir crew in a difficult position again almost forcing them to carry out an emergency evacuation of Mir.

Beginning of April
The Mir station suffered a technical failure in the CO₂ removal system. The Mir crew had to shut down the CO₂ removal unit to replace it with a back up system carrying lithium Hydroxide cannisters. At the same time, the cooling system in the station failed causing the temperature and humidity to rise in the station. The fumes that resulted from the leaking Ethylene Glycol coolant forced the Mir crew to wear breathing masks. On the 8th of April, a spacecraft arrived at the Mir space station with equipment to repair the failing cooling system. In addition the spacecraft carried Oxygen supplies which were to replace the lithium perchlorate candles which had been used previously to supply Oxygen.

However, Linenger had expressed confidence that, despite these technical problems, the work aboard Mir would stay on track. "We are out here on the frontier and I guess I expected the unexpected ... In spite of some of these difficulties, we're having a very successful mission".

15th of April
NASA put a new Oxygen system on public display. The Russian company RSC Energia had adopted an electrolysis mechanism in order to separate Oxygen and Hydrogen from water. This new Oxygen generator was subsequently transported to the Mir space station aboard the American space shuttle Atlantis in May of 1997.

25th of June
A number of technical problems had arisen aboard Mir as a result of a collision of a cargo ship with the Spektr module of the space station. This cargo ship, Progress M34, was being used to test a new guidance system. This accident had not only forced the Mir crew to shut off the Spektr module but had seriously restricted the energy supply to the station. Electrical cables, that link up solar panels on the Spektr module to the rest of the Mir space station, had been cut off forcing the crew to adopt a strict routine to save as much electrical power as possible.

Following the Progress M34 collision
Russian cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev complained of heart pains. Space officials requested that the crew get some rest. Viktor Blagov, the Russian Deputy mission Chief, said that abnormal sleeping schedules had perhaps been responsible for Tsibliyev's health problems. Suggestions had been made that perhaps the repair work would be left until August 5th when a new Russian crew was due to arrive at Mir.

Six weeks after the collision
The Russian Soyuz space capsule arrived with a large amount of repair equipment as well as fresh food. Tensions were high as the Russian cosmonauts adopted the manual docking procedure. It was precisely a manual docking procedure that had caused the collision in June with Progress M34. The Soyuz space capsule also brought Russian cosmonauts Solovyev and Vinogradov who were to face the difficult task of carrying out the repair work aboard the damaged Spektr module.

25th of August
Mir lost use of both the main and backup Oxygen generators. Ed Campion, the NASA spokesman, down-played the seriousness of the problem saying that the three crew aboard Mir had enough Oxygen on board to last at least two days. Russian flight controllers were unable to give up to date information as Mir passed out of communication range. However one fact was clear- if the crew could not repair either the main or backup Oxygen systems quickly, they would have to make an emergency escape using the attached Soyuz capsule. Whilst this was not the first time that the crew had had problems with the primary Oxygen generator, it was the first time that the both Oxygen systems were down at the same time. However news was not all bad as Commander Anatoly Solovyov reported that electrical power, which had also been interrupted, had been partially restored. The Russian Mission Control confirmed that there were 40 additonal amps of electricity flowing through the station.

General reactions to the events aboard the Mir space station from some of the cosmonauts and astronauts that worked on Mir:
- According to Russian Cosmonaut Alexander Kalery, the risk of going up to the Mir space station had not increased after the June collision with the cargo ship
- Russian cosmonaut Solovyov stated that "space flights are like cycling - once you have learnt how to do it, you never forget"
- American Astronaut Wendy Lawrence added a touch of humour saying that the problems aboard Mir were like her old car back at home
- French cosmonaut Jean Pierre Haignere, who is hoping to carry out work at the Mir space station at the end of 1999, made a positive statement by adding that the very fact that the Mir space station has survived so many problems and is still operational shows that the security aboard Mir is good
- French cosmonaut Leopald Eyharts had admitted that while conditions were not very comfortable aboard the space station, there were no short term risks for the safety of the crew.