Astronaut Alexander Gerst is now the German with the longest space practice: 166 days he has spent in 2014, in All 197 days this year. Since this week he is back on earth – now Gerst in Cologne has for the first Time since his return in a press conference. the
After his return from the International space station, ISS, German ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst is looking forward to Christmas with the family. He will now spend two days at home and “with my family to celebrate Christmas,” said Gerst after his second space flight at his first press conference in Cologne, Germany. “I am really happy that I have the time with my family”.
Because of his long-term stay on the ISS, he didn’t Christmas gifts to get, “but I have been assured, it is coming this year also,” said the 42-Year-old. His fitness program after more than six months in zero gravity, he had to continue on the holidays. Therefore, were “push-UPS under the Christmas tree” on his program.
The little Joshua is a big Gerst Fan. The four-year-old driving a question: Whether “Astro Alex” ‘ve eaten after his return, already broccoli?
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A four-year-old Boy by the name of Joshua was in Cologne for an urgent question to Gerst: “Have you eaten broccoli since you were on earth?” The answer: “no, I ate a lot of lettuce, on broccoli, I still had no Hunger.” There had even been a broccoli on the ISS. “That was one of my favorite food on the space station. It is funny that you like broccoli suddenly more, if you are in the world space, before, it was my favorite dish.”
On the question of possible plans for a third space flight, said Gerst, another use as an ESA-Astronaut “of course, my decision”. He belong to the European astronaut corps, “that is to say, I am available for flights”. For now it is but a “turn,” added Gerst.
After 197 days in space, was Gerst landed on Thursday in a Soyuz capsule in the Kazakh Steppe. At his arrival, the German spaceman showed up after more than six months in weightlessness in a good state of health: he was able to climb the stairs of the aircraft, with which he returned on Thursday morning back to Cologne, without the aid down. He can build on his sport program in the Orbit, muscle mass, said Gerst.
Astronaut Alexander Gerst awarded a girl a stuffed animal. He spoke at the European astronaut centre on the end of his most recent space mission.
(photo: Reuters)
Adds, “that my body can adjust to, apparently, very quickly to new environments”. However, the sports program was important to him like in weightlessness easier than now on the earth. At the time he was “in the muscle soreness phase”. Gerst used currently in the European astronaut centre (EAC) of the European space Agency ESA in Cologne and in the adjacent space travel, medical research center for the Investigation of the German center for air and space travel (DLR) back to the earth’s gravity. With the exception of Christmas day, a Doctors and scientist team the returnees from the All even into January support.
During his second long-term stay on the ISS was the German Astronaut to a total of about 200 experiments worked. The research programme of Gersts Mission “Horizons” were 65 ESA experiments, of which 41 came from Germany. Gerst had already been completed in 2014 in the Wake of his Blue Dot Mission, a long-term stay on the space station. Overall, the “Astro Alex” became popular German has now spent a total of 363 days aboard the space station. At his second space flight at the beginning of October he took over as the first German and the second European to command the ISS.
