Editing Valeri Polyakov (section)

{{Short description|Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, record holder for longest single stay in space (1942–2022)}}
{{family name hatnote|Vladimirovich|Polyakov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox astronaut
| name        = Valeri Polyakov
| native_name = {{lang|ru|Валерий Поляков}}
| image       = Valery Polyakov.jpg
| type        = [[Roscosmos cosmonaut]]
| status      = 
| nationality = <!--Deprecated per MOS:INFONAT-->
| birth_name  = Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1942|4|27}}
| birth_place = [[Tula, Russia|Tula]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], Soviet Union
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2022|9|7|1942|4|27|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Moscow]], Russia
| occupation  = [[Physician]]
| selection   = [[List of astronauts by year of selection#1972|Medical Group 3 (1972)]]
| time        = 679&nbsp;days, 16&nbsp;hours, 33&nbsp;minutes, 18&nbsp;seconds
| mission     = {{Ubli
  | [[Soyuz TM-6]]/[[Soyuz TM-7|TM-7]] ([[Mir&nbsp;EO-3]]/[[Mir EO-4|4]])
  | [[Soyuz TM-18]]/[[Soyuz TM-20|TM-20]] ([[Mir EO-15]]/[[Mir EO-16|16]]/[[Mir EO-17|17]])
  }}
| insignia    = [[File:Soyuz TM-6 patch.svg|35px]] [[File:Soyuz TM-7 patch.png|35px]] [[File:Soyuz TM-18 patch.png|50px]] [[File:Soyuz TM-20 patch.png|35px]]
| awards      = ''[[#Honours and awards|See below]]''
}}

'''Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov''' ({{langx|ru|Валерий Владимирович Поляков}}, {{IPA|ru|vɐˈlʲerʲɪj vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ pəlʲɪˈkof|IPA}}; born '''Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov''' [{{lang|ru|Валерий Иванович Коршунов}}]; 27 April 1942 – 7 September 2022) was a Soviet and Russian [[cosmonaut]]. He is the record holder for the [[Timeline of longest spaceflights|longest single stay in space]], staying aboard the [[Mir|Mir space station]] for more than 14&nbsp;months (437&nbsp;days, 18&nbsp;hours) during one trip.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|last=Schwirtz|first=Michael|title=Staying Put on Earth, Taking a Step to Mars|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/space/31mars.html|access-date=15 May 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 March 2009|archive-date=7 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707011946/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/space/31mars.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His combined space experience was more than 22&nbsp;months.<ref name=nmmuseum>{{cite web|title=Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov|url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=132|publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History|access-date=27 January 2011|archive-date=24 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424135805/http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=132|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Selected as a cosmonaut in 1972, Polyakov made his first flight into space aboard [[Soyuz TM-6]] in 1988. He returned to Earth 240 days later aboard [[Soyuz TM-7|TM-7]]. Polyakov completed his second flight into space in 1994–1995, spending 437 days in space between launching on [[Soyuz TM-18]] and landing with [[Soyuz TM-20|TM-20]], setting the record for the longest time continuously spent in space by an individual.<ref name=nmmuseum/>