Sergei Avdeyev: Record-holder

Mr Avdeyev is the world's most experienced space traveller, having spent nearly 700 days in space over an eight-year period - some of it stranded on board Russia's battered and accident-prone Mir space station.

Now, the tourist secretary for the Canary Islands has finalised an agreement with Moscow's Institute of Biological Medicine to send cosmonauts to the islands on holiday after they return to Earth.

The first Russian crews will travel to the islands in October.

After long periods in space, cosmonauts feel confused and depressed.

Depressed cosmonauts will be able to recuperate here

Space is - after all - a deeply unnatural environment for human beings to live in.

The effects on the body can be severe, including disruption to balance, sickness, muscle wasting and heart problems.

Cosmonauts have to engage in long periods of exercise to recover their fitness.

Russia has for many years conducted experiments on the effects of prolonged periods in space on the human body, in preparation for a long-planned journey to Mars.

But Russia can no longer afford an ambitious space programme.

Now with the prospect of Spanish sun, sea and sand, the cosmonauts have a greater incentive to complete their missions.