Back to Earth--and Cigarettes--for Cosmonaut-Journalist

Cosmonaut Toyohiro Akiyama, making history as both the first Japanese and the first journalist in space, returned safely to Earth today craving a breath of fresh air--and cigarettes.

Akiyama, who spent eight days in space--six of them in orbit aboard the Soviet space station Mir--descended in a Soyuz TM-10 space capsule along with Soviet cosmonauts Gennady Strekalov and Gennady Manakov. They landed in a snow-covered field in the Soviet central republic of Khazakhstan.

“I wouldn’t mind doing it again, but it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Akiyama, who made daily television and radio broadcasts live from the Mir station despite bouts of dizziness and space sickness.

“My first thought was how good it was to breathe the wonderful air of Earth,” Akiyama told reporters from the Tokyo Broadcasting System.

But Akiyama added that he also was looking forward to a beer and a cigarette. A heavy smoker, he gave up cigarettes for four months in preparation for his flight.

Re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere was spectacular, Akiyama said. “It was as if fireworks went off while I was riding a roller coaster.”