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During the French-Soviet space mission 'Aragatz', the experiment CIRCE (Computer Intégrateur de Rayonnement Complexe dans l'Espace) recorded the dose rate and quality factor values inside the MIR station. This paper presents results obtained with a new active dose equivalent meter based on microdosimetric techniques and using a low pressure tissue-equivalent proportional counter. In terms of lineal energy the CIRCE device works in the 0.2 - 1200 keV.µm-1 range in tissue. Preliminary studies were performed in photon, neutron and heavy ion beams, and in the real stratosphere cosmic radiation field. Long-term measurements on board the MIR station from December 1988 to April 1989 gave an average quality factor value equal to 1.9 ± 0.3. Through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), the quality factor was equal to 1.4. The temporal orbital variations of the dose rates and quality factors have been established in space dosimetry for the first time.