Project Juno

As the United Kingdom did not, at that time, have a human spaceflight programme (until the UK joined the human spaceflight elements of ESA's exploration programme in December 2012,[1] which led to Tim Peake's ESA mission in 2015), a private consortium was formed to raise money to pay the Soviet Union for a seat on a Soyuz mission to the Mir space station.

After learning Russian and familiarising themselves with the science programme, Smith and Brooks were employed to teach the other two how to perform the experiments and then to conduct them in a life sized mock up of Mir for live media during the mission.

The cost of the flight was to be funded by various innovative schemes, including sponsoring by private British companies and a lottery system.

[4] Ultimately the Juno consortium failed to raise the entire sum, and the Soviet Union considered cancelling the mission.

[5] The ambitious microgravity experiments originally planned were dropped when time ran out for sending required equipment on an automated 'Progress' flight.