Russian cosmonaut Valery Poliakov, who with 437 days held the

record for remaining in space in a single mission since 1995,

has died this September 19 at the age of 80.

Born in 1942, Poliakov specialized in Astronautical Medicine.

After being selected as a cosmonaut in 1972, he participated in two space missions on the now decommissioned Soviet MIR orbital station: the first in 1989, in which he spent 240 days;

and a second in 1994, in which he stayed 437 days, 17 hours and 58 minutes.

In total, Poliakov spent 22 months in space (specifically, 678 days, 16 hours and 33 minutes), according to Roscosmos, the Russian agency.

That same year of 1995, Poliakov

retired as an astronaut to dedicate himself to his profession as a doctor

, being distinguished as a Hero of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

In recent years he was deputy-director of the Moscow Ministry of Public Health.

In 1999 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, along with astronauts Pedro Duque, John Glenn and Chiaki Mukai for the peaceful exploration of space.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more