Two cosmonauts are less than two days from being the first humans aboard Mir in nearly eight months, but their predecessor says he left the station ready for its next guests.

Although Sergei Avdeev, the man who closed Mirs hatch last August during a touching, widely televised ceremony, knew that his crew could be the last to fly in Mir, he nevertheless did everything possible to prepare it for future visits.

"I temporarily closed the station so that other people who returned to Mir after me would feel comfortable to live and work on it," said Avdeev.

Sergei Avdeev in a recent photo

Take one look at the Russian cosmonaut and U.S. astronaut rosters and youll see two groups used to overachieving and welcoming challenges.

Becoming a Mir crew member presented more than a few obstacles and roadblocks to people accustomed to complex and technical fields.

On the ground, U.S. astronauts training in Russia had to master language skills, the Soyuz module and Mir's systems, along with the Russian way of doing things.

"In America we use a lot of simulation and technology to train," said former astronaut and Mir crew member John Blaha. "In Russia, they train the old-fashioned way An instructor uses a piece of chalk and a chalkboard and students sit the classroom by themselves or with another student."

Each course in the Star City, Russia complex concluded with an oral exam on the material covered.

Cosmonauts who prepare to fly for Mir take exams that fall into two categories: those related to the Soyuz spacecraft that carries them to Mir and the Mir station itself.

"The overall number of exams is about 100," said Avdeev. But there are also simulators, he said. "The training goes in classrooms and in simulators where you try all possible situations which may happen in your future flight. You learn how to deal with emergencies. You train in the spacecraft simulator at least once a week and at least once every two weeks in the station simulator."

"Each system of [the] spacecraft/space station is covered by a particular exam," said Mir veteran Vladimir Titov. "The exams are very hard. You should know the system not just to pass the exam but to work with and maintain it adequately in flight."

Blaha added that NASA doesnt have exams, but expects the crew to perform to a certain high standard.

Perhaps the only thing consistent about Russian and U.S. experience aboard Mir is the different perceptions of life aboard the station -- even among the seven American astronauts.

"Different experiences happened to the seven people," Blaha said. "Jerry (Linenger) would tell you he thought it was pretty unsafe and doesnt understand why we sent more people after him."

Linenger, who followed Blaha aboard the station, survived a harrowing fire aboard the station and experienced numerous other mechanical malfunctions that interrupted experiments he was to conduct.

He recounts his time aboard Mir in the recently published book, "Off the Earth: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir."

Linenger, who was unavailable for comment, resigned from the space agency in 1996 and has been critical of NASA and the U.S. participation in the Mir program.

Blaha takes a different approach to the outposts problems and its safety.

"We judged it against our standard," he said. "Our standard was a space vehicle that flew a two week or shorter mission."

Every time a shuttle landed, it was worked on by hundreds of technicians in a comfortable hangar, Blaha said, but Mir was always in orbit and under scrutiny with only two or three people available to make repairs.

"Its like a home youre living in," he said. "Youre there all the time and things will need to be fixed."

Michael Foale flew on Mir in 1997 when an automated Progress supply ship collided with the station and caused depressurization in the Spektr module -- his living quarters. He said Mir had some hazards, but luck played a role too.

"No one was killed aboard Mir the only thing lost was property damage," he said. "We were lucky. We had some close calls. Sometimes the stats say you just gotta be lucky."

Air and coolant leaks, computer malfunctions, fire and collisions notwithstanding, the space station is safe, most cosmonauts say -- with qualifications.

"Mir is safe to the same extent as any other inhabited spacecraft," said Avdeev. "Mir has been explored very well. People know its strong and weak sides and know how to solve its problems. They can already forecast its malfunctions and fix them before they actually happen. I would say that Mir would be considerably safer than any other spacecraft or space station which has not been operated for so long yet."

Mir veteran Vladimir Dezhurov agrees.

"Mir is absolutely safe," Dezhurov said, "especially taking into consideration that there are a number of new modules docked to it, which can be operated for a long period of time."

Vladimir Dezhurov in a recent photo

While Mir is a robust machine, it is not perfect and could be improved, both as a living quarters and as a flying laboratory, he said. Of course, any thoughts about the considerable improvement of Mir at this point are more dreams than well-grounded plans, said Vladimir Titov, who completed the first yearlong flight on the complex.

"I would say that nothing special needs to be done on Mir, probably just regular maintenance," Titov said. "To make it more comfortable, one should probably build a new station. This will be easier and less expensive than to modify an old outpost."

Vladimir Titov

Dezhurov agreed.

"It is hard to change anything in Mir right now," Dezhurov said. "Besides, it is a classic space station. Dont forget that it was designed and built based on the experience of seven previous stations (the Salyut program)."

Still, more advanced means of communication with the ground would increase Mirs effectiveness as a flying laboratory, Avdeev said.

"There are such means and they have already been tested," he said. "I believe that it would make sense to choose one of them, to invest money in its further development and to make it a state of [the] art, or to continue such experiments.

"However, I would like to stress one more time: it is the obsolete means of communication between Mir and Mission Control center which restrict the stations effectiveness. As about comfort, I would say that Mir provides its inhabitants with more than acceptable life conditions."

Mir veteran Sergei Krikalev said he introduced about 150 suggestions after his first flight for ways to improve the station.

"I believe more windows would definitely make it more comfortable for living and a better laboratory. Unfortunately, [the] ISS (International Space Station) will have even fewer windows than Mir," he said.

Sergei Krikalev

"It looks like Mirs experience has not been taken into consideration in this particular case. I also would like Mir to be less noisy. An air conditioning system inside the station has a lot of built-in reserve what results in the considerable number of fans. These fans create a lot of noise. The ISS developers try to minimize such noise in the new station."

All the Russian cosmonauts feel very proud for their spaceship.

"I believe that Mir celebrated its 14th anniversary in space because it was very well designed and built," Dezhurov said. "It is hard to anticipate all kinds of problems, but Mirs very robust design helped to avoid a considerable number of problems. I feel nostalgic about Mir and would like to return to it. I am more experienced now and could do the same work more effectively spending less time and effort."

Dezhurovs feelings were shared by Titov and Avdeev, the cosmonauts who logged together more than three years on Mir. "I would not mind flying to it again," said Titov, "although for not more than for three months."

Avdeev said his return would depend on his health. "It all depends on the medical examination," said Avdeev. "If it finds me fit enough, I will definitely fly again. Mir is certainly an option."

"Mir has proved its vitality," Titov said. "This program, which was designed for not more than five years, is still being realized."