mineral samples in microgravity. He also carried out plant experiments on azolla and photographed Vietnam from orbit for mapping purposes. Tuân was in space for 7 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes, completing 142 orbits, and returned to Earth on 31 July 1980. Personal life Tuân brought several things with him on the Soyuz 37 flight. These included pictures of former President Hồ Chí Minh, General Secretary Lê Duân, Hồ Chí Minh’s will, Vietnamese flags. He wanted to stamp all of these at the space station and bring it back to Earth. Tuân has stated that his personal relationship with his Russian friends has continued to this day. Every year, he travels long distances to meet up with his fellow Russian cosmonauts. Tuân is married and has two children. He is now a retired Lieutenant General, director of the General Department of Defense Industry of the Ministry of Defense, and is a non-elected member of the Vietnam National Assembly. See also Weapons of the Vietnam War References Toperczer, Istvan. MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. 2001, Osprey Publishing Limited. . Bibliography External links Spacefacts biography of Phạm, Tuân Vietnam Government Website: Lieutenant General Pham Tuan 1947 births Living people North Vietnamese military personnel of the Vietnam War Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Vietnamese astronauts 1980 in spaceflight Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Recipients of the Order of Ho Chi Minh Astronaut-politicians Salyut program cosmonauts