Science: Return to Earth

Around the world for 175 days

After circling the earth for a record 175 days in their Salyut 6 spacelab, Cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakhov, 38, and Valeri Ryumin, 40, last week landed safely on the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan. Unaccustomed to earthly gravity, they quickly settled into reclining chairs, posed cheerfully with a bouquet of gladioli and gamely fielded questions of Soviet journalists. Admitted Ryumin: "It's hard to get the tongue around words." But after a night on down-filled mattresses, the new Heroes of the Soviet Union seemed chipper enough to risk a dip...

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