3 is Vladimir Lyakhov’s lucky number – for the 3 Soyuz missions he flew, for the 3 space stations he stepped into, for the 3 times he left the station to walk into the icy vastness outside. Then another figure, 333 – the total number of days he spent in space. Lyakhov even has a joke about it – which doesn’t translate too well – and he tells it in thickly accented Russian, his eyes twinkling and his thining white hair gleaming under the light.

The experience of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Israel is indescribable. The reverence and awe of walking along the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of Suffering in Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, as he walked - mocked, bloodied and carrying a heavy cross, from the place he was sentenced to his crucifixion in Calvary, is a never-to-be forgotten experience.