ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt returns from his first space mission

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked autonomously from the Space Station. After completing a series of deorbit burns, the spacecraft entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed its parachutes for a water-landing off the coast of Florida.

The Axiom-3 crew was launched on 18 January 2024 and spent 18 days on board the Space Station (20 days in space). Marcus was welcomed aboard by fellow ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who is currently commander of the Station. 

“During his nearly three weeks/his time on the Space Station, Marcus carried out a series of experiments for the benefit of Swedish and international research. Through his spaceflight, he contributed to maintain Sweden as a leading nation in space knowledge. He is also a source of inspiration for a whole generation of Swedes in natural sciences,” says Anna Rathsman, Director General of the Swedish National Space Agency, on Marcus’s return. 

“Sweden’s swift and robust decision-making is at the heart of Muninn mission success. Marcus’s fast-track mission as an ESA project astronaut showed that through ESA, Europe can be agile and flexible and ready to join a changing human-spaceflight landscape,” added ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.

“This mission of firsts diversified our access to space, accelerated important science and research, and helped gain experience with new partners. The Muninn mission has better prepared ESA and Europe for a post-ISS future,” says Josef Aschbacher.

As part of his Muninn mission, Marcus supported numerous European experiments and many more international experiments in microgravity. He will now fly directly to Cologne, Germany, where he will be monitored by ESA’s space medicine team as he readapts to Earth’s gravity at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) and the German Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) ‘:envihab’ facility.

It is currently foreseen that Marcus will arrive in Cologne.

A limited number of media may attend the return of Marcus at the airport, and there may be a short Q&A with Marcus when he disembarks from the aeroplane.

The arrival of Marcus and the Q&A on the tarmac will be recorded by ESA and made available on ESA channels as soon as possible.
Please contact us via media@esa.int for more information.

More Information

For more information on Marcus’s journey please see the Muninn website, check our launch kit in English or Swedish and connect with Marcus on his Instagram and X accounts.

Contact

ESA Newsroom and Media Relations
Email: media@esa.int

Images

https://www.esa.int/esearch?q=Marcus+Wandt+images

Muninn mission patch and name:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/06/Muninn_mission_patch_and_name

Muninn photo album for professionals:
https://photolibrary.esa.int/collection/?sid=lbmaq1zyh

ESA’s Photo Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.

Videos

https://www.esa.int/esearch?q=Marcus+Wandt+videos

B-rolls for media, in English and Swedish:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2023/09/Marcus_Wandt_Muninn_mission_training

ESA’s Video Library for Professionals:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

ESA’s Video Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_conditions_of_use_of_images_and_videos_available_on_the_esa_website

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.

Social Media

Follow ESA on:

X: @esa @esaspaceflight @astro_marcus

Facebook: @EuropeanSpaceAgency 
Instagram: @europeanspaceagency @europeanspaceagency esaastro_marcus
YouTube: ESA 
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA 
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA 

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int