Euromir

Euromir was part of a drive in the early 1990s to recruit and train European astronauts for the then-planned International Space Station (ISS).

ESA's 1992 intake of astronauts were trained up, with two being sent to on Shuttle missions.

In 1993, a contract for two flights was signed, with Ulf Merbold and Thomas Reiter being the prime candidates for 1994 and 1995, respectively.

Pedro Duque and Christer Fuglesang were chosen as backups.

[1] They were trained on Russian language and the systems of Soyuz and Mir.