KinderHerz Foundation: Astronaut Matthias Maurer answers children’s questions about heart research

On Saturday there was a 20-minute live video session with the German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer for children who are supported by the KinderHerz Foundation, the opportunity to ask questions. The switch ran through the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Maurer is an ambassador for the KinderHerz Foundation and works on research projects in heart medicine on the ISS, among other things. Children asked, Maurer replied: “I wanted to ask you whether your research in space could lead to progress for us heart children on earth? That, for example, the risk of bacteria is reduced or implants have to be replaced less? ” O-TON MATTHIAS MAURER: “Yes, it is indeed a very, very great question, because we are doing experiments up here in the field of medicine and materials science. And in the field of medicine we have already run experiments in which heart cells are grown. And these heart cells, they can grow here in weightlessness, just like in the human body. Well, they can really develop in a 3D dimension. And we even had heart muscle cells beating here. Now that’s all still basic research. But If this research is carried out further, it may be possible that these heart muscles may also serve in the future to enable children with heart disease to have a second, normal heart chamber operated on. This is a long-term vision, but here on the space station let’s lay the foundations for it. ” O-TON ALESSANDRO FROM MUNICH: “Hello, I’m Alessandro in Munich, Gabriel from Bad Sobernheim would like to know Do you always experiment or do you relax? And if so, how do you do it?” O-TON MATTHIAS MAURER: “Well, during the week from Monday to Friday we have to work from morning to evening, to do experiments. That’s why we flew up, trained for a long time. We have to make maximum use of the time. We have half a Saturday Day tidying up and cleaning the station, because of course everything has to be clean so that the experiments work and we can live healthy here. And on Sundays I usually have a bit of free time. In my free time I have to do sports, of course, because up here in weightlessness the body begins to break down the muscles and the bones. We don’t want that. That’s why we have to do two and a half hours of sport every day, that is, do some strength training and also do some fitness training. But of course I can do that too Listening to music and that relaxes me too, of course. And sometimes I just float here in my module and enjoy this Sch werelessness. Then I feel a bit like a butterfly. And that is an experience of absolute freedom. And when I float in the Cupola, open my window in space and see our beautiful blue planet below me, then I am absolutely relaxed. “51-year-old Matthias Maurer flew to the International Space Station on November 11th Last mid-April 2022.