ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer returned from his first mission to the International Space Station, known as ‘Cosmic Kiss’, on Friday 6 May 2022, splashing down in Crew Dragon Endurance in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cosmic Kiss lasted 177 days, during which Matthias became the 600^th person in space, conducted his first spacewalk, and supported over one hundred cutting-edge scientific experiments - the findings of which will be translated to improving life back here on Earth.

From furthering our understanding of human musculature function to investigating how bacteria grow in microgravity, you can read more about the areas of research Matthias facilitated here.

For a more in-depth overview of Matthias’ Cosmic Kiss mission, visit our dedicated Cosmic Kiss mission page.