Russia to deploy giant mirror in space
Cosmonauts on the Russian space station, Mir, are preparing to deploy a giant mirror to temporarily reflect sunlight back to earth.
The experiment is part of a Russian company's bid to fund a string of mirrors, to help alleviate dark northern winters.
The cosmonauts are scheduled to unfold the petals that go to make up the 25-metre wide mirror later this week.
Assuming there is no cloud cover, the mirror would be positioned to reflect sunlight back to earth, striking parts of Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, as well as Germany, France and Canada.
The mirror will be visible from the earth as a large star. A Russian company, Energiya, is behind the experiment.
It wants to attract private funds to develop a string of orbitting mirrors, aimed at shining light onto northern regions during their long winters, to boost agriculture and generally improve life.
The Russian Government has extended the life of the Mir station as a base, should Energiya find the money.
But the move has caused tensions, since Russia is struggling to keep its commitments on the new international space station.