The German astronaut Matthias Maurer flies to the ISS in a SpaceX space capsule. He stays there for a long time and speaks in advance about what he will miss most.
Oberthal / Florida – Astronaut Matthias Maurer will start his flight to the International Space Station ISS on Sunday (October 31, 2021) at 2.21 a.m. local time (7.21 a.m. German time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 51-year-old will be the fourth German astronaut on the ISS and the first to take off for the ISS in a SpaceX space capsule.
The last German on the space station so far was Alexander Gerst, who flew to the ISS for the second time in 2018 and was even the commander there for a while. Matthias Maurer, who comes from the municipality of Oberthal in Saarland, will spend six months there – and will miss some of the earth during this time.
Astronaut Matthias Maurer takes off for the ISS with SpaceX: he will miss a lot on earth
“A fresh, crispy roll,” says Maurer as an example from the news agency dpa – because there is no crispy food on the station. The reason: Floating crumbs could become a medical problem in the event of an unfortunate coincidence – for example, if an astronaut accidentally inhales them or gets them in the eye while in space. The food must therefore be “more sticky or soggy,” said Maurer of the dpa.
FR newsletter astronomy
Would you like to find out more about space travel and astronomy? Then subscribe to our FR newsletter and stay well informed at all times.
But even far away from culinary delights, Matthias Maurer will be missing quite a lot of everyday things from the earth: “I will definitely miss the fresh air,” said the doctor of materials science at the dpa. “I love nature, the smells in the forest, when the wind blows around your nose by the sea, raindrops on your skin, the many different colors – especially in autumn.” And it is precisely at this time of the year that Maurer is heading in his direction International Space Station.
Its home community of almost 6000 inhabitants, Oberthal, is already looking forward to the start. A “take-off event” is planned on site, said Mayor Stephan Rausch of the dpa. “The voltage increases. We are very proud. ”Other federal states, which Matthias Maurer is helping to achieve fame with his SpaceX flight to the ISS, should also be pleased.
Before SpaceX flight to the ISS: hard training and quarantine for astronaut Matthias Maurer
Before his trip to the International Space Station, Matthias Maurer had to learn a lot and go through tough training – for example, learning medical supplies such as pulling teeth or doing tasks underwater in a spacesuit. Because on the ISS the astronauts are on their own: “If you lose contact, you are space junk,” he said before his flight to the ISS.
In addition, he had to be quarantined almost two weeks ago in preparation for the ISS. However, this rule for astronauts flying to the space station already existed before the corona pandemic, so that they would not cause the crew to become sick. If you can do this at home, you can stay there during the quarantine – otherwise there is the “Astronaut Quarantine Facility” in NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Together with three other astronauts, Matthias Maurer is to start the 22-hour journey in a “Crew Dragon” space capsule from Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to the International Space Station. Seven other people are currently living and working there, most of them since April this year. (Jan Trieselmann with dpa)
