Alexander Gerst is headed back to space - and will become the first German to take command of the International Space Station. The news was made public during Chancellor Merkel's visit to the German Aerospace Center.
Image: Getty Images/ESA/A. Gerst
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With the list of politicians scheduled to drop in at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne racking up over the past few weeks, the news that Chancellor Angela Merkel was also paying a visit signaled something big.
And for Germany, the news announced on Wednesday was pretty big indeed: astronaut and geophysicist Alexander Gerst is set to take command of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2018, the first German astronaut to take on the job.
Johann-Dietrich Wörner, director of the European Space Agency, said Gerst will fly to the ISS in 2018 for a six-month stay and take command for some of his time there.
As commander, Gerst's chief responsibilities will be to build a team, maintain morale among crew, conduct on-orbit operations and otherwise implement the mission as dictated by the flight director.
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Gerst gave Merkel a personal tour during Wednesday's visit to the German Aerospace CenterImage: DW/F. Schmidt
Merkel congratulated Gerst after the announcement, saying that everybody "had come to know Gerst as an ambassador from space." He had made people realize "on what a beautiful planet we live on and how vulnerable Earth is."
Gerst, 38 years old on his first trip to the ISS two years ago, said he appreciated the trust that everybody had set in him. "It is a big compliment for me. And I am happy for spaceflight in Europe," he said.
During his previous six months in space Gerst was highly active on social media, reporting on his experiences and posting images of Earth. He also presented question-and-answer sessions via live videocasts with children in German schools.
In an exclusive interview with DW's "Tomorrow Today," Gerst said observing Earth from above - viewing war zones and the effects of climate change - had changed his perspective on our planet and life.
An astronaut's view
In space, German astronaut Alexander Gerst was able to take stunning images of the Earth's surface. Experiments conducted by the international team may also benefit the Earth and its people.
Image: ESA/NASA
More than science
"Hello Berlin, I don't see any borders from up here!" Gerst tweeted on November 9th 2014, the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Apart from conducting a number of experiments in various scientific disciplines, Alexander Gerst had another important mission: to show people on Earth how beautiful and fascinating our "Blue Dot" is.
Image: Alexander Gerst/ESA/picture-alliance/dpa
Breathtaking phenomenon
"Words can't describe how it feels flying through an Aurora" - that's how Alexander Gerst described his experience with this natural phenomenon. Although he found it difficult to capture the experience in words, he was able to conduct research into auroras. One aim was to investigate the influence of our planet's electromagnetic forces on electronic devices at the International Space Station.
Even on Earth, one rarely gets to see the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Alexander Gerst was fortunate to get this great shot from space of the Northern Lights in the polar region.
Image: ESA/NASA
Geochallenge
It is neither a mountain, nor a vulcano. In fact, this picture taken by Alexander Gerst shows Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona. Gerst would often share his photos on social media with the hashtag #geochallenge, challenging the public to try and figure out where the geographical feature might be.
It looks like a tiny hole, but actually measures 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide. Despite its interesting appearance, typhoons like this one can cause tremendous damage on the Earth's surface. "From up here it is surprisingly obvious that our world is one connected system," Gerst observed from space.
On thing that makes Alexander Gerst's photos so beautiful and fascinating is how they are unstaged, authentic snapshots. In this image, which Gerst tweeted as the saddest photo he's taken yet, explosions and rockets are visible in Gaza and Israel.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ESA/NASA
Scientific purposes
Gerst's images, including this one of windswept valleys in North Africa, can be compared to previous, similar images. This helps scientists observe changes on the Earth's surface and determine whether they are natural or manmade.
The circles on this image are not the work of aliens, but rather irrigated agricultural fields in arid regions of Mexico. Some of Gerst's experiments dealt with food - for example, the astronauts grew edible plants on the space station to see if they could develop methods to use water more efficiently.
Image: ESA/NASA
Works of art
Some images Gerst took look like the works of a talented painter. This image shows a river in Kazakhstan snaking its way through the landscape. Defunct bends of the river are also visible, and one can imagine how it's likely to change course again in the future.
Image: ESA/NASA
Different view of infinity
"When light from the Cupola tints ISS orange inside, I can tell we're over Africa without even looking out the window," Gerst had tweeted. The Sahara Desert is perceived to be endless - when one is in it. But as this image of Libya shows, even the sand dunes there have a beginning and an end.
Image: ESA/NASA
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Young man in space
Gerst was selected as an astronaut for the European Space Agency in 2009. Though he will become the first German commander of the ISS, he wasn't the first German to visit the station. Thomas Reiter made the trip in 2006, and Hans Schlegel followed in 2008.
Gerst's appointment is seen as significant for Germany, as it becomes a hub for space exploration and training.
"Space flight is one the biggest achievements and chances of our time," said Pascale Ehrenfreund, the director of the German Aerospace Center. "Those who can do space flight can do anything."
It's been 42 years since the first German traveled to outer space, when East German cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn spent seven days onboard a Soyuz capsule in 1978. Five years later, the then West Germany sent its first astronaut to space - Ulf Merbold spent 10 days as part of NASA's Spacelab mission.
