New dates for Crew-2 return and Crew-3 launch

Crew-3, made up of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, was initially scheduled to be launched on 31 October 2021. This was delayed to 3 November due to weather, before being further delayed due to a minor medical issue with a crew member.

Mission teams have now decided to return Crew-2 from the Space Station before launching Crew-3, due to weather considerations for both launch and recovery operations. Crew-2 includes ESA astronaut and current International Space Station commander Thomas Pesquet, alongside NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and Japanese Aerospace Agency JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

The launch of Crew-3 will mark the beginning of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer's six-month Cosmic Kiss mission. Tune in to ESA Web TV channel two for live coverage of the crew-3 launch and Crew-2 landing.

Matthias will be launched alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron. Collectively known as Crew-3, the four astronauts will travel aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance and dock to the Space Station around 22 hours after liftoff.

During the journey to and from the Space Station, Matthias and Kayla will be mission specialists, working with spacecraft commander Raja and pilot Tom to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight.

Cosmic Kiss is the first space mission for Matthias, who graduated as an ESA astronaut in 2018. Matthias will spend approximately six months supporting science and operations aboard the orbital outpost and is expected to perform a Russian spacewalk, having certified in both the Russian Orlan and American Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits.

Science in space

With a background in materials science Matthias is looking forward to supporting over 35 European and many more international experiments in orbit. These include investigations in human research, biology, materials science, fluid physics, environmental science and radiation, and technology. A few highlights include:

• Retinal Diagnostics, which uses a commercially available ophthalmology lens, adapted for use with a tablet in space, to capture images of astronauts’ retinas. Images and videos collected will be used to test and train artificial intelligence (AI) models that could automatically detect retinal changes in astronauts in the future and provide the ability to support patients and clinicians on Earth in remote or developing regions. 

• Biofilms, which aims to determine which metal surface has the best anti-microbial properties on ground, in orbit or on Mars. Run in the Kubik facility – a temperature-controlled incubator for studying biological samples in Europe’s Columbus module – it will test the growth of bacteria such as human skin-associated bacteria Staphylococcus capitisunder microgravity conditions.

• EasyMotion, which will see Matthias test a specialised electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) suit while exercising to determine its effect in mitigating muscle and bone loss in microgravity.

For more information on science and operations Matthias will carry out in space, view the Cosmic Kiss mission brochure in English or German. Regular updates will also be provided on the ESA Cosmic Kiss mission page, ESA Exploration blog and Matthias’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels. You can also check out the Cosmic Kiss collection available from the ESA Space Shop.