He participated in an eight-day joint Russian-French-Slovak mission to the Mir space station in 1999.

He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Slovak Republic Army as a pilot at the 33rd Air Force Base in Malacky, Slovakia.

[2] Bella began training as a research cosmonaut on 25 March 1998.

Bella spent just over a week in space and returned to earth on 28 February aboard Soyuz TM-28 along with fellow crew member Gennady Padalka.

[1][2][3] In 2004, Bella was appointed to serve as a military attaché for Slovakia in Moscow, Russia.