Alexander Gerst

Alexander Gerst
ESA astronaut
Status Active
Born (1976-05-03) 3 May 1976
Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Other occupation
 Geophysicist
Time in space
 165d 08h 01m
Selection 2009 ESA Group
Missions Soyuz TMA-13M (Expedition 40/41)
Mission insignia
Awards Bernd Rendel-Preis

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.

Gerst studied at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, where he received a degree in geophysics.[1] 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.

He was officially selected as an astronaut in 2009 by the European Space Agency.[2] He visited space as part of the Expedition 40/41 International Space Station crew from May to November 2014.[3][4]

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.

Gerst is slated for another tour to the ISS during the summer of 2018, this time as commander of the space station.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "Alexander Gerst". European Space Agency.
  2. ↑ "ESA prepares for the next generation of human spaceflight and exploration by recruiting a new class of European astronauts". European Space Agency. May 20, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Expedition 41 Lands Safely in Kazakhstan". NASA. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Alexander Gerst wird erster deutscher Kommandant im All" (in German). faz. 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  6. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "First German commander among astronauts named for station flights". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

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