Project Juno
Privately funded campaign that sent the first Briton to space.
Project Juno was a privately funded effort that sent Helen Sharman into orbit, making her the first British citizen in space. At the time, the UK had no official human spaceflight program—that changed only in December 2012, when the country joined the European Space Agency’s crewed exploration initiative, which later led to Tim Peake’s 2015 mission. To get around this gap, a private consortium raised money to buy a seat from the Soviet Union on a Soyuz flight to the Mir space station. The Soviets had recently done a similar deal with Toyohiro Akiyama, a Japanese journalist.
**Selection** An advertisement in the UK—one line read “Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary”—drew 13,000 applicants. Four candidates were chosen to train in the Soviet Union: Gordon Brooks, a 33-year-old Royal Navy physician; Major Timothy Mace, 33, from the Army Air Corps; Clive Smith, a 27-year-old lecturer at Kingston University; and Helen Sharman, a 26-year-old food technologist. A Scottish Television documentary, *Mission Juno*, aired on 28 December 1989, covering the training process. Eventually, Mace and Sharman were picked for full-time training at Star City. After learning Russian and studying the science program, Smith and Brooks were tasked with teaching the other two how to run the experiments and then conducting them in a full-scale mock-up of Mir for live media coverage during the mission.
**Funding** The flight’s £7 million cost was meant to be covered by creative fundraising, including corporate sponsorships from British Aerospace, Memorex, and Interflora, plus a lottery system and television rights sold to ITV. The Juno consortium failed to raise the full amount, and the Soviet Union considered canceling the mission. But Mikhail Gorbachev ordered it to proceed at Soviet expense. Ambitious microgravity experiments were scrapped when there wasn’t enough time to send the necessary equipment on an automated Progress cargo ship. Instead, Sharman carried out experiments designed by British schools that used existing gear aboard Mir, along with a British microbiology screening investigation that the Russians took over.
**Flight and after** Sharman launched on Soyuz TM-12 on 18 May 1991 and returned on Soyuz TM-11 on 26 May 1991. Both Sharman and Mace applied but were not selected in the 1992 and 1998 European Space Agency astronaut rounds. Brooks had been put forw
- field
- Human spaceflight
- nationality
- British
- known_for
- Selecting the first Briton in space
- launch_date
- 18 May 1991
- return_date
- 26 May 1991
- cost
- £7 million
Lore & Background
A call for applicants publicized in the UK, with one advertisement reading 'Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary', drew 13,000 applications. Four candidates were selected to train in the Soviet Union: Gordon Brooks, Timothy Mace, Clive Smith, and Helen Sharman. The training process was documented in a Scottish Television documentary, 'Mission Juno', broadcast on 28th December 1989. Eventually Mace and Sharman were selected to continue full-time training at Star City. Smith and Brooks were employed to teach the other two how to perform experiments and to conduct them in a life-sized mock-up of Mir for live media during the mission.
Reader's Guide
Project Juno is significant as the first British human spaceflight effort, achieved through private funding and cooperation with the Soviet Union. Although the consortium failed to raise the full £7 million cost, Mikhail Gorbachev directed the mission to proceed at Soviet expense. The ambitious microgravity experiments originally planned were dropped, but Sharman performed experiments designed by British schools using existing equipment aboard Mir, along with a British microbiology screening investigation taken over by the Russians. The mission paved the way for later UK involvement in human spaceflight, which did not occur until the UK joined ESA's exploration programme in December 2012, leading to Tim Peake's 2015 mission. Both Sharman and Mace were candidates but not selected in the 1992 and 1998 European Space Agency selection rounds.
Did You Know?
- The Soviet Union had recently flown Toyohiro Akiyama, a Japanese journalist, under a similar arrangement.
- Corporate sponsors included British Aerospace, Memorex, and Interflora.
- Timothy Mace later married the daughter of cosmonaut Vitali Zholobov and served as helicopter pilot for President of South Africa Nelson Mandela.
- The flight cost £7 million, but the Juno consortium failed to raise the entire sum.
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