It was a small step for two cosmonauts, and one giant leap for Bradford.

Yuriy Usachev and Dr Alexander Martynov, pictured admiring a space suit glove, put aside their walks in space to land with a bump at Bradford University.

But Mars, Mir and meals in zero gravity were never far away.

The pair were in the city to deliver a free Christmas lecture to some 500 school children and 250 adults, including business people and students, at the University.

The 90-minute presentation covered life on the Mir space station and the technology required for a manned mission to Mars.

And for Mr Usachev it was a totally new experience.

The celebrated Russian cosmonaut has been all the way to space four times in the last eight years and has spent a total of 670 days there, but yesterday was his first time in Bradford.

Mr Usachev, who appears in the IMAX Space Station film shown at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, commanded the second expedition to the International Space Station.

He said: "It is great to be here and see the country. Everyone is very interested in our work and have asked a lot of questions."

He said one of the things he had to readjust to when returning to earth was the effort needed to move after the weightlessness of space.

He said: "It is hard to walk the first couple of days. But I actually did more walking in space than here so was fitter."

He said space has a special, indescribable smell, which he believes has something to do with ionisation, that lingers on the space suits and equipment when back on earth.

Dr Martynov worked in Russian Mission Control for 25 years and was head of ballistics.

He has designed re-entry modules for space flights to Mars and Venus and other planets of the solar system. He regularly visits England to give presentations on space.

Dr Martynov said: "Most of the questions we are asked are about life and walking in space, and how cosmonauts can adapt to the atmosphere."

He said he believes the next big step in space travel will be a manned mission to Mars.

And he added space tourism will also really take off in the next few years.

He said: "We have 100 businessmen from all over the world who would like to fly using our space craft at the cost of $15,000 to $20,000 for a week. It is possible and good to experience but we have to be careful. It still can be dangerous and needs to be done properly."

He said one of the hazards for cosmonauts is potential damage to hearing because the noise in the space station is around 70 decibels.

Head of Cybernetics at Bradford University, Dr John Baruch, said: "It is absolutely terrific that we have had the chance to meet these two men.

"We want to inspire young people to go and do these things and take up the sciences.

"Everybody who goes into space says it's fantastic. We want space travel to take off and we want Bradford to be in there."

"Mir to Mars: Science on the Space Frontier" was organised by Setpoint West Yorkshire - part of the national network of organisations which aim to provide a "one stop shop" for information about science, engineering technology and mathematics.

The event was funded by the Learning and Skills Council for West Yorkshire's Future Skills Group - a national group whose purpose is to identify solutions to future skills needs.