Status Active Awards Bernd Rendel-Preis Time in space 165d 08h 01m Name Alexander Gerst | Selection 2009 ESA Group Role Astronaut Other occupation Geophysics Mission insignia Space missions Soyuz TMA-13M | |
Born 3 May 1976 (age 48) Kunzelsau, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany ( 1976-05-03 ) Education Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Similar People Gregory R Wiseman, Maksim Surayev, Thomas Reiter Profiles | ||
Alexander gerst bio and training
Dr. Alexander Gerst (born 3 May 1976 in Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg) is a European Space Agency astronaut and geophysicist, who was selected in 2009 to take part in space training. He was part of the International Space Station crew from May to November 2014.
Contents
- Alexander gerst bio and training
- Lichtmond 3 space and beyond a tribute to astronaut alexander gerst on his iss mission for esa
- Career
- In ESA
- Expedition 4041
- Expedition 5657
- In popular culture
- References
Lichtmond 3 space and beyond a tribute to astronaut alexander gerst on his iss mission for esa
Career
Gerst studied at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, where he received a degree in geophysics. He also studied earth science at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, where he was awarded a master of science. He has been working as a researcher since 2005 and received his doctorate in natural sciences at the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Hamburg in 2010, with a dissertation on geophysics and volcanic eruption dynamics. In his spare time, he enjoys mountaineering, diving, climbing and skydiving.
In ESA
He was officially selected as an astronaut in 2009 by the European Space Agency.
Expedition 40/41
He visited space as part of the Expedition 40/41 International Space Station crew from May to November 2014. On 7 October 2014, Gerst performed his first EVA with Reid Wiseman. The astronauts moved a failed cooling pump from temporary to long-term storage on the station's truss. They also installed a new relay system that will provide backup power options to the mobile transporter, which moves the large robotic arm around the out outside of the space station. The duration of the EVA was 6 hours and 13 minutes.
On 10 November 2014 at 03:58 UTC (04:58 CET), he landed back on Earth in the same Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft that flew him to the International Space Station on 28 May along with Russian commander Maxim Suraev and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.
Expedition 56/57
Gerst will launch for his second tour to the ISS on Soyuz MS-09 in May 2018, as commander of the ISS for Expedition 57. He will be the second European Space Agency astronaut to command the station, after Frank de Winne commanded Expedition 21. In May 2017, his mission name and logo were announced, called "Horizons".
In popular culture
Some of Gerst's background and appearance is incorporated into the character of Alex Vogel, a German astronaut and part of the crew of the Hermes vessel in the 2015 science-fiction film The Martian.