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Torch in Space!
eading up to the 2014Winter Olympics, Russian cosmonaut Ser-
gei Ryazansky took part in a special space walk. Ryazansky
trained as a
biochemist
. His main job on the space station was to put
in gear that would help monitor earthquakes on Earth. But for this
2013 space walk, he carried something else: the Olympic torch. The
Winter Games were to be held in Sochi, Russia. The Russian space
group sent a torch up with its cosmonauts. On November 9, Ryazan-
sky and Oleg Kotov carried the torch into space for the first time. It
was not lit, since without oxygen, fire cannot burn in space.
The Olympic torch returned from its journey to space in 2013. It continued on a long journey that
ended at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.