N° 21–2022: ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer returns after his first mission to the International Space Station
6 May 2022
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer returned to Earth today alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, marking the end of his first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Cosmic Kiss.
Collectively known as Crew-3, Matthias and his colleagues returned in Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance, which undocked autonomously from the Station on 05 May 2022 at 07:20 CEST. After completing a series of deorbit burns, Endurance entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed its parachutes for a water-landing off the coast of Florida on 06 May 2022 at 06:43 CEST.
Crew-3 was launched to the Station on 11 November 2021 and spent almost six months living and working in orbit as members of ISS Expedition 66.
During his time on board, Matthias supported over 35 European experiments and many more international experiments in microgravity. He will now fly directly to Cologne, Germany where he will be monitored by ESA’s space medicine team as he readapts to Earth’s gravity at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) and the German Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) ‘Envihab’ facility.
It is currently foreseen that Matthias will arrive in Cologne at 22:30 CEST.
A limited number of media may attend the return of Matthias at the airport and there may be a short Q&A with Matthias when he disembarks from the aeroplane.
The arrival of Matthias and the Q&A on the tarmac will be recorded by ESA and made available on ESA channels as soon as possible. A news conference will follow a few days after Matthias’s return.
Please contact us via media@esa.int for more information.
Call for Media: News Conference with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer at EAC 11 May
Media representatives are invited to join ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on 11 May 2022 from 11:45-12:45 for a news conference to learn more about his first mission to space.
The conference will be Matthias’s first news conference in Europe after almost six months of living and working on board the International Space Station and will be held at the ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.
The number of media permitted on-site will be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, off-site media may also join virtually via a dedicated WebEx platform.
Programme
All times are CEST. This event will be held in German and English.
- 10:45 Media arrive on site
- 11:45 News conference begins
- 12:00 Opportunity for media questions
- 12:45 News conference ends
- Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General (joining remotely)
- Walther Pelzer, Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR, Member of the DLR Executive Board
- David Parker, ESA Director Human and Robotic Exploration (TBC)
- Matthias Maurer, ESA Astronaut
Location: ESA/EAC
Linder Hoehe
D-51147 Cologne
Germany
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/EAC/How_to_reach_us
Media Registration
Register by 13:00 CEST 10 May, specifying whether you would like to join in-person or online:
https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/ .
Matthias will not be available for individual interviews after the news conference.
Please note that all media representatives joining us at EAC must be fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19. This is a condition for access and will be checked. We ask for your understanding regarding the even stricter ESA European Astronaut Centre rules as health and safety of our astronauts shortly after a mission is a top priority.
Also, for media wishing to attend in person we kindly ask media teams to restrict their numbers as much as possible as places are limited. During the event, medical or FFP- 2 face masks must be worn by all and at all times when inside.
The news conference will be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions (in English and German) via a dedicated WebEx platform.
ESA article in full:
Upcoming events are posted on the launch and events calendar at www.esa.int/newsroom.
Contact
If you have further questions, please contact media@esa.int.
Further information
Information on Matthias and the Cosmic Kiss mission can be found on the ESA mission webpage www.esa.int/cosmickiss alongside regular updates on the ESA Exploration blog.
A Cosmic Kiss mission brochure is also available in English and German.
Images
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Search?SearchText=Cosmic+Kiss&result_type=images
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.
Videos
Video B-roll of Matthias Maurer and the Cosmic Kiss mission is available on ESA’s videos for professionals:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/12/Matthias_Maurer_Cosmic_Kiss_Mission_B-Rolls
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/11/Matthias_Maurer_Cosmic_Kiss_mission_launch_campaign
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2020/12/Matthias_Maurer_Cosmic_Kiss_mission_training
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.
Social media
Follow ESA on
Twitter: @esa, @esaspaceflight, @astro_matthias
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency, esamatthiasmaurer
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency, ESAMatthiasMaurer
YouTube: ESA
About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int
For further information:
ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Ninja Menning
Email: media@esa.int
Tel: +31 71 565 6409