The start of inventory and preparation to leave the station. I think that the duration of flights — or more precisely, the settling of space — will not be constrained by human limitations, since improvements in life support systems and training methods will constantly lead to a higher level of understanding of human capabilities, and consequently, the potential inherent in people will be continually developed. As in sports, for example — high jump or the 100-meter dash. It would seem that a limit should be reached somewhere. You can’t, after all, jump 5 meters high. Yet the bar keeps being conquered, little by little. The same goes for space. Humans will venture further, setting more complex tasks before themselves, but the success of these tasks will largely be determined by how well the following factors are integrated into the programs:

Purpose. Why is this needed.

The richness and variety of the work.

The research drive and morale of the crew members.

The level of comfort ensuring life on board, not mere survival.

Then one can fly even longer and work no worse. It’s a good feeling to know that the station, its systems, and equipment have been tested and tuned by us to the point where they run reliably, and you yourself are just another one of its systems, feeling in your gut your connection to everything here. You’ve fused with the technology, become one with it. The telemetry locators start clattering like a woodpecker — that means onboard system parameters are being recorded. The pumps hum — condensate is being pumped out. The compressor kicks in — fuel is being transferred from the cargo ship to the station, and so on. And if in this harmonious acoustic machine symphony there’s a glitch in the rhythm or a wrong note from an extraneous sound — that’s when your chief role as conductor begins: find the culprit, understand the cause, and tune things back to the right key.

It’s a wonderful feeling when each day brings concrete results. Today we grew a potassium-bismuth crystal; yesterday the materials were aluminum-indium. In geology, we photographed the territory of Australia. We enjoyed working on our day off, and that means we truly rested.

During the meeting with families, I half-jokingly tell Lyusya: “I wouldn’t mind staying up here for a year — down there it’s too much hustle, but up here it’s calm work and complete certainty.” She says: “No, you come back soon — think of us.” Vitalik told us about the pet parrots he bought and asked me to bring back something tasty from the food supplies.