Miroslaw Hermaszewski, Poland’s first and only astronaut is lending his support the Masurian Lake District, the Polish finalist in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.
In a letter to the organizers of the campaign, Hermaszewski shared his feelings about his native country with the Ambassador of Mazur, Jacek Palkiewicz.
“Traveller and explorer Jacek Palkiewicz walked in order to see the most interesting places on our planet,” Hermaszewski wrote. “I could watch and admire those places from the orbit. The view of Masurian Lakes on the Blue Planet is marvellous, indeed,” Hermaszewski wrote.
“I want this exceptional spot in Poland to become known worldwide. Let us mobilize and promote Poland and this national treasure Mazury in the international ‘New7Wonders of Nature’ campaign, so that the eyes of the world are upon us,” Hermaszewski concluded.
On June 27, 1978, the Soyuz 30 spaceship, carrying Pyotr Klimuk and Miroslaw Hermaszewski, blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew docked to the orbital space station Salyut-6 and carried out scientific experiments aboard the station. During its eight-day flight, the spacecraft circled the Earth 126 times before landing in Kazakhstan on 5 July.
Photo: Pyotr Klimuk (left) and Miroslaw Hermaszewski (right).