Maksim Surayev

Maksim Surayev, born on May twenty-fourth, nineteen seventy-two, is a distinguished Russian politician and retired cosmonaut. His remarkable career in aviation began as a fighter pilot, which laid the foundation for his subsequent achievements in space exploration.

Surayev's journey to the stars included serving as a backup crew member for ISS Expeditions seventeen and nineteen from two thousand six to two thousand nine. In two thousand nine, he commanded a spacecraft that successfully traveled to the International Space Station, where he served as a flight engineer for one hundred sixty-seven days, returning to Earth in two thousand ten.

Throughout his illustrious career, Surayev participated in multiple expeditions, including serving as a flight engineer on Expedition twenty-two and as both flight engineer and expedition commander for Expeditions forty and forty-one. Notably, he completed two spacewalks, one in two thousand ten alongside fellow cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, lasting five hours and forty-four minutes, and another in two thousand fourteen with Aleksandr Samokutyaev, which lasted three hours and thirty-eight minutes.

After retiring from the cosmonaut corps in two thousand sixteen, Surayev transitioned into politics, being elected to the State Duma representing the United Russia party. He served in this capacity from two thousand sixteen to two thousand twenty-one. His contributions to space exploration were recognized in two thousand ten when he was awarded Russia's highest honor, becoming a Hero of the Russian Federation.