Destination Mir is the next step in the current fad for
reality tv. Recently signed by
NBC the programme was devised by the creator of
Survivor, Mark Burnett. The show will cover the fortunes of a team of competitors as they are sent to Star City, a
Russian space camp, for
cosmonaut training. Over a period of around thirteen weeks the trainers will
eliminate entrants one by one, building up to a final programme where the best
candidate will be selected on the
launch pad of a
Soyuz space capsule. This lucky
winner will then actually fly on a ten day trip to Mir itself.
The programme is rumoured to have been signed for almost $40 million by NBS, $20 million of which will cover the cost of the trip itself. This payment will go to MirCorp, the current owners of the rights to use Mir for commercial purposes.
Additional Note: This seems rather unlikely these days. RIP Mir.