Foale, Michael (1957-…), is a British-born astronaut working with the United States space program. He has made a number of space flights, including two long-duration missions, one on the Russian Space Station Mir and one on the International Space Station (ISS). The Mir mission lasted from May 15, 1997, until Sept. 28, 1997. The ISS mission lasted from Oct. 20, 2003, until April 29, 2004.
Foale was born on Jan. 6, 1957, in Louth, England. He earned a degree in physics from Cambridge University in 1978. Foale was inspired to be an astronaut by John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth. Foale was selected as an astronaut candidate by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in June 1987. His first flight was in March 1992.
Before joining Mir, Foale trained in Russia. While on board Mir, he planned to conduct scientific experiments. However, Mir was involved in a collision with a supply ship, and the module where Foale lived and worked was badly damaged. During his six-month stay aboard the ISS, Foale served as mission commander. In total, Foale has spent nearly 400 days in space.
