Muninn: First space mission for ESA’s Marcus Wandt begins
The Dragon spacecraft carrying ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt and his colleagues Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei and Alper Gezeravcı docked to the International Space Station at 10:57 GMT (11:57 CET) Saturday 20 January.
The four astronauts are part of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) and will live and work in orbit for up to two weeks. Marcus’s mission is called Muninn.
The crew spent around 36 hours catching up with the Space Station after their launch on 18 January at 21:49 GMT/22:49 CET (16:49 ET local time). Marcus became the fifth ESA astronaut to leave Earth on a Dragon spacecraft and served as a mission specialist during the journey.
Marcus is the first of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space, and the second Swedish citizen to fly in space.
“I am immensely grateful and impressed by everyone who worked together to make this mission possible. I want to thank ESA for being bold and forward-thinking, and for paving the way to strengthen Europe’s presence in space with the support of Sweden and Axiom Space,” said Marcus on launch day.
As a project astronaut, Marcus’s job at ESA is linked to this specific flight opportunity on a fixed-term contract.
Two Scandinavians in orbit
The Muninn mission officially began as a ’weightless’ Marcus went through the hatch of the Space Station’s Harmony module at 12:16 GMT (13:16 CET).
Marcus’s first mission to space takes its name from Norse mythology and the two raven accomplices of the god Odin – Muninn and Huginn. According to the myth, the ravens serve as messengers and advisors to their god, sharing all they see and hear. Huginn is the mission name of Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen.
Marcus was welcomed aboard by Andreas, who is currently commander of the Space Station. This is the first time two Scandinavians are together in space, ready to gather new knowledge in orbit, deliver benefits to people on Earth and prepare for future space exploration.
Action-packed mission
Marcus will devote much of his time in space to scientific activities and technology demonstrations that could shape the way we live and work on Earth. In total, he will run around 20 experiments and take part in five educational programmes on the Space Station.
The Muninn programme is packed with European research and new experiments led by the Swedish Space Agency, ranging from studies into how the design of space habitats affects an astronaut’s stress levels to unravelling the changes in cellular structures and gene expression in microgravity.
Follow the Muninn mission
Follow Marcus’s journey on the Muninn website, check our launch kit in English or Swedish and connect with Marcus on his Instagram and X accounts.
Latest updates on the Muninn mission can be found on X via @esaspaceflight and on ESA social media channels. You can also shop the official Muninn collection online at the ESA Space Shop and tune into the official Muninn mission playlist.
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