Ivan Bella (born 21 May 1964), a Slovak Air Force officer, made history as the first Slovak citizen to travel to space. He trained as a research cosmonaut at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre from March to August 1998. On 20 February 1999, he launched aboard the Soyuz TM-29 mission alongside commander Viktor Afanasyev and flight engineer Jean-Pierre Haigneré, spending eight days at the Mir space station. During his mission, he conducted scientific experiments—including a study on the survival of Japanese quails during long flights—before returning to Earth on 28 February 1999 aboard Soyuz TM-28 with cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. Following his spaceflight, Bella continued his distinguished military career and was appointed as a military attaché for Slovakia in Moscow, Russia, in 2004.