After his SpaceX flight on the ISS, the German astronaut Matthias Maurer will help some otherwise inconspicuous to unpopular federal states to fame.
Cape Canaveral – When the German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer takes off into space on Sunday (October 31, 2021) at 7.21 a.m. German time on board a SpaceX space capsule, federal states will also gain fame that otherwise often do not have it so easy in Germany . For his first mission “Cosmic Kiss”, Maurer will live and work on the International Space Station ISS for six months. The 51-year-old and his crew are scheduled to dock with the ISS around 22 hours after take-off. And so that the twelfth German doesn’t get bored in space, he has a few special items with him.
For example from Saxony-Anhalt. Maurer will take a scaled-down copy of the Nebra Sky Disc with him to the ISS. The copy with a diameter of 20 centimeters is made of hand-colored epoxy resin with glass fiber reinforcement and gives an impression that is true to the original. The cushions, which represent the sickle and full moon, stars, horizon arcs and solar barge, are made of gold. Maurer’s spacesuit is also adorned with a patch with the logo of the stylized sky disc. The original was found in 1999 near Nebra in Saxony-Anhalt. With an age of more than 3,600 years, it is considered to be the world’s oldest representation of concrete astronomical phenomena.
German astronaut flies into space with SpaceX: Matthias Maurer has food from Saarland with him
Another federal state that is repeatedly misunderstood in Germany is the Saarland. But the Saarland not only produced the astronaut Matthias Maurer – he was born in St. Wendel in 1970, 36 kilometers from Saarbrücken. The Saarland had recently made a name for itself again and again with its rather loose corona policy. And the Saarland, or rather one of its chefs, also contributes spicy aromas to Maurer’s stay in the ISS: The astronaut can taste the space menus together with the rest of the crew on the ISS – including venison ragout with potatoes and the Saarland classic “Geheirade” made from potatoes , Flour and quark with bacon, is the motto on vacation.saarland.
A space freighter without a crew will dock with the ISS on Saturday (October 30, 2021) even before Maurer’s SpaceX capsule. The Russian Progress MS-18 transporter also has gifts for Christmas and New Years on board. “Of course there are parcels from home, surprises, letters,” said cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov. And when it comes to Christmas, we would be in the next federal state: Saxony, which recently made headlines due to the high AfD successes in the federal election in 2021 and particularly low vaccination rates against Corona. Because this space travel news is definitely positive: a nutcracker was brought into space from the Erzgebirge in August, which is supposed to advertise Chemnitz as European Capital of Culture 2025 – and at the same time to create a Christmas atmosphere on the ISS. (kke with dpa)
You will receive all the news about astronomy and space travel with our free FR newsletter.
List of rubric lists: © Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
