Soyuz TM-26 was the 32nd mission and the 24rd long-duration expedition to Mir space station. It was also a part of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program. The mission began on August 5, 1997, 15:35:54 UTC, launching Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts performed several EVAs and various scientific experiments in medicine, biotechnology, Earth sciences etc. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, STS-86 and STS-89, and welcomed aboard Soyuz TM-27 with the next expedition crew. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on February 19, 1998, 09:10:30 UTC.