space travel
Back as a fiddle: Astronaut Maurer back in Germany
Astronaut Matthias Maurer gets off the plane after arriving at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Photo: Henning Kaiser/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
He was in space for half a year – now Matthias Maurer has arrived back on earth. Immediately after landing in the Gulf of Mexico, he jetted on to Cologne. And now? Put your feet up first.
When a man in blue overalls appears at the top of the aircraft door, applause erupts from those waiting: After his return to Earth, astronaut Matthias Maurer has now arrived back in Germany.
Early on Saturday morning he landed in a Luftwaffe aircraft at the military part of Cologne/Bonn Airport. The 52-year-old said he was still a bit shaky on his feet, but otherwise he felt very well. “I am very happy.” So were the dozens of relatives and friends who greeted Maurer on arrival.
“First of all, we’re happy that he’s back safe and sound,” said his college friends Erik Hepp and Uwe Arenz, who waved little Germany flags. “We are very excited to see what he will tell.” The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), also came to greet the returnee.
The Saarlander had spent around six months on board the International Space Station ISS. On Friday morning, a space capsule dropped him and three Americans off the Florida coast. Then Maurer flew on to Cologne.
He was very satisfied with the way his mission went, but at the same time he felt great humility, said Maurer. He enjoyed the view from above: “You can really see that the earth is a sphere.” He sometimes missed “conveniences like eating from a plate where not everything flies away”.
He got along wonderfully with the Russian cosmonauts. “The Russian colleagues are my space brothers, just like my Nasa colleagues.” During Maurer’s stay on the ISS, the Russian attack on Ukraine had begun. Because of the war, there are significant tensions between Moscow and the western space nations.
“I come from an island where everything was fine,” said Maurer. For 22 years, the ISS has been a symbol of international cooperation, friendship and peaceful human cooperation. “To see the world slipping away from up there is very depressing and very frightening.”
Twelfth German in space
Maurer traveled to Humanity’s Outpost on November 11, 2021. There he was involved in numerous experiments and completed a field assignment. The astronaut from the European space agency Esa was the twelfth German in space.
In Cologne, Maurer will be looked after around the clock by a specialized team at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) over the next two weeks. According to a spokeswoman, he will undergo a series of medical tests at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine, which will focus on the topics of balance, fitness and performance.
When that’s over, he’ll finally “put his feet up, just relax a bit,” said Maurer. He is looking forward to a little more freedom in his own daily routine. And then he wants to go on vacation.
“It was incredible impressions and experiences,” said the astronaut. He could well imagine flying into space again: “If there is a second opportunity, then I would like to do it again.”