Mir's purpose was to provide a large and habitable scientific laboratory in space, and, through a number of collaborations, including Intercosmos and Shuttle-Mir, was made internationally accessible to cosmonauts and astronauts of many different countries.
Mirs formål var at være et stort og beboeligt laboratorium i rummet, og gennem samarbejde, blandt andet Fase Et, blev hun gjort internationalt tilgængelig for kosmonauter og astronauter fra forskellige lande.