>> HI. I'M ESA ASTRONAUT
MATTHIAS MAURER.
I WILL BE A MISSION SPECIALIST
ON THE NASA SPACEX MISSION
TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
WATCH US LAUNCH ON NASA TV
OR ESA TV.
>> HI. I'M ESA ASTRONAUT
MATTHIAS MAURER.
I WILL BE EMISSIONS SPECIALIST
ON THE NASA SPACEX CREW-3
MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
>> SO THE CREW-3 MISSION
IS LIKE THE THIRD LAUNCH
OF A COMMERCIAL SPACE VEHICLE
TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
WE WILL BE WORKING
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION FOR AROUND SIX MONTHS
DOING LOTS OF EXPERIMENTS,
LOTS OF SCIENCE,
FOR THE BENEFIT OF US, MANKIND,
DOWN ON OUR PLANET EARTH.
>> ONCE WE ARRIVE
ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION, WE WILL RUN
A LOT OF EXPERIMENTS.
I'M A-A MATERIAL
SCIENCE ENGINEER,
AND SO MY FOCUS
WILL BE LOTS OF EXPERIMENTS
IN THE MATERIAL SCIENCE DOMAIN,
BUT ALSO LIFE SCIENCES
WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT.
>> I STARTED MY TRAINING
AROUND ONE AND A HALF YEARS
BEFORE THE LAUNCH,
AND PART OF THE TRAINING
COMPRISES THE TRAINING
FOR THE SPACECRAFT,
SO THE DRAGON SPACECRAFT,
BUT ALSO A LOT OF TRAINING
AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
IT'S A HUGE SPACE STATION
AND HAS LOTS
OF DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT,
AND SO WE LEARN
HOW TO FIX THE EQUIPMENT,
HOW TO MAINTAIN IT,
HOW TO INSTALL NEW EXPERIMENTS,
AND ALSO HOW TO REPAIR
OLD OR FAILED EXPERIMENTS.
>> SOME OF THE TRAINING TAKES
PART AT JSC IN,
UH, HOUSTON, TEXAS.
SOME OF THE TRAINING TAKES PLACE
IN CALIFORNIA
AT SPACEX PREMISES.
THERE WE LEARN
HOW TO OPERATE THE SPACECRAFT,
THE DRAGON SPACECRAFT,
HOW TO FLY IT
IN NOMINAL CONDITIONS,
BUT ALSO WHAT TO DO IN CASE
THERE'S AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
>>THE MOST DIFFICULT PART FOR ME
DURING A TRAINING
IS COMBINING LANGUAGE,
LIKE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE,
WITH VERY CHALLENGING TRAINING,
LIKE UNDERWATER TRAINING.
SO THE EVA TRAINING THAT WE DO
IS USUALLY IN THE POOL
IN THE EMU,
BUT I ALSO TRAINED
IN THE ORLAN.
I'M QUALIFIED NOW IN THE ORLAN.
BUT COMBINING LANGUAGE SKILLS
AND THE HARD
AND STRENUOUS WORK
IN THIS SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT
UNDERWATER IN THE SUIT,
THAT WAS, FOR ME,
THE MOST CHALLENGING.
>> THERE ARE
A LOT OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS
THAT WE TRAIN
AND THAT WE PRACTICE FOR,
SO SOME EXTREME CONDITIONS
LIKE TRAINING IN A CAVE
OR TRAINING UNDERWATER
DURING THE NEEMO TRAINING,
AND THESE ARE SOMETIMES
SO SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU,
AS A NORMAL PERSON,
ARE USUALLY NEVER EXPOSED OF,
SO TAKING PART IN THESE
SPECIAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENTS
IS VERY REWARDING,
BECAUSE IT OFFERS YOU
A NEW INSIGHT
INTO THE BEAUTY OF OUR PLANET.
>> I'VE BEEN TRAINING
QUITE A BIT WITH, UH, RAJA.
WE DO ALL THE EMU RUNS TOGETHER,
SO IN THE POOL, AND, UM,
SO WE HAD SOME FUNNY EVENTS
WHERE WE GOT STUCK UNDERWATER,
AND WE HAD TO COME UP
WITH SPECIAL, UM, WAYS
TO GET OUT OF THERE.
>> WELL, TOM AND I
HAVE BOTH SOME MEDICAL
TRAINING BACKGROUND.
HE'S A-A MEDICAL DOCTOR.
I WORKED AS A PARAMEDIC,
AND SO, UH, WHENEVER WE HAVE
SOME EMERGENCY TRAINING
WHERE MEDICAL, UM, EMERGENCIES
ARE INVOLVED, HE AND ME
ARE KIND OF LIKE
A VERY CLOSE TEAM,
AND WE DON'T NEED
ALL THE PROCEDURES.
WE RUN, UM, ALL THE-THE STUFF,
LIKE, JUST ALMOST, LIKE,
BY HEART, AND SO THERE'S
A VERY SPECIAL BONDING
BETWEEN US.
>> SHE'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD,
AND UM, A VERY GOOD OPERATOR.
YOU CAN FEEL THAT SHE, UH,
WORKED IN A--
IN A DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT
IN A SUBMARINE.
UM, SHE HAS A LOT
OF TECHNICAL SKILLS,
BUT ALSO LEADERSHIP SKILLS,
AND I CAN EASILY SEE THAT, UH,
KAYLA, IN THE NEXT FLIGHT,
SHE WILL BECOME COMMANDER
OF HER SPACECRAFT.
>> I THINK CREW-3 IS, UH,
KIND OF A ROOKIE CREW
WITH ONLY ONE
EXPERIENCED SPACE FLYER, TOM.
UM, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
I DON'T FEEL, LIKE,
THAT WE ARE ROOKIES AT ALL.
LIKE, RAJA HAS A HUGE BACKGROUND
IN-IN FLYING, LIKE, THE MOST
COMPLICATED SPACECRAFTS,
AND KAYLA,
SHE HAS A HUGE BACKGROUND IN,
UH, LIKE, WORKING
IN A VERY DIFFICULT AND HIGHLY
TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT,
SO I DON'T CONSIDER
BOTH OF THEM ROOKIES.
I-- MAYBE I'M THE ONLY ROOKIE.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE
WE'RE AN EXTREMELY GOOD TEAM,
AND AFTER A FEW DAYS IN SPACE,
I THINK WE WILL BE THERE,
AND IT WILL BE OUR ENVIRONMENT.
>> WHEN WE ARE IN SPACE,
WE WILL PROBABLY SEE
MORE THAN 20 PEOPLE, LIKE,
COMING UP TO SPACE.
SOME OF THEM, UH, THE CREW
THAT WE HAND OVER WITH,
AND SOME OTHERS, UH,
SPACE FLIGHT PARTICIPANTS.
UH, WE WILL HAVE SPACE TOURISTS
UP THERE, AND, UM,
SO IT-IT'LL BE
HIGHLY INTERACTIVE.
WE WILL SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE.
PEOPLE WITH
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS,
DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRAINING,
SO THAT'S A KIND OF A NEW ERA
THAT WE ARE NOW ENTERING,
BUT WE WILL ALSO SEE
NEW VEHICLES
UP THERE, HOPEFULLY.
UM, WE'LL SEE
THE EUROPEAN ROBOTIC ARM.
WE'LL SEE THE RUSSIAN SIDE
GROWING WITH TWO NEW,
UH, NEW MODULES.
WE WILL ALSO SEE, LIKE,
HOPEFULLY THE BOEING FLYING
UP TO THE STATION,
UM, AND, YEAH,
AS I SAID, LIKE, TOURISTS
FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
>> I THINK WE'RE NOW ABOUT, UM,
TO ENTER A NEW ERA
OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.
IN THE PAST, WE, UH,
ASTRONAUTS FLEW
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION TO DO PURELY SCIENCE.
NOW THE STATION WILL
BECOME MORE AND MORE COMMERCIAL.
THERE ARE COMMERCIAL EXPERIMENTS
ON ONE SIDE, BUT THERE ARE
ALSO COMMERCIAL
SPACE FLIGHT PARTICIPANTS
WHO COME UP TO RUN MAYBE
THEIR OWN SCIENCE PROGRAMS,
BUT ALSO TO ENJOY
JUST BEING UP IN SPACE,
TO EXPERIENCE SPACE,
AND TO CONVEY THIS MESSAGE,
THE FASCINATION OF SPACE,
TO ALL THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND.
>> I THINK WE NEED
A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTORS
IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT,
BECAUSE IF ONLY ONE AGENCY
RUNS THE PROGRAM,
THEN, UM, I THINK THE FUTURE
WILL NOT BE AS SOLID, AS ROBUST.
IF WE HAVE, UM, LIKE,
A LOT OF PARTICIPANTS,
DIFFERENT AGENCIES ENTERING,
UH, THE PARTNERSHIP,
ALSO THE COMMERCIAL PARTNER
SHOWING UP,
THEN I THINK THE FUTURE
FOR SPACE FLIGHT,
FOR HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT,
WILL BE MORE ROBUST.
WE WILL ADVANCE MUCH FASTER,
AND MORE PEOPLE HAVE MORE IDEAS,
MORE TECHNOLOGY,
UM, ALLOWS US TO DO
MORE STUFF IN SPACE.
>> I WAS BORN IN GERMANY.
I GREW UP THERE AND THE FIRST--
FOR THE FIRST 20 YEARS,
I ACTUALLY STAYED IN THE--
MORE OR LESS THE SAME AREA.
UM, I DID
KIND OF A CIVIL SERVICE
INSTEAD OF A MILITARY SERVICE,
SO I WAS AN AMBULANCE DRIVER
FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS,
AND I ALSO FINANCED
MY STUDIES LATER ON BY WORKING,
UM, AS AN AMBULANCE DRIVER
ON THE WEEKEND.
I STUDIED TWO YEARS
IN GERMANY MATERIAL SCIENCE.
THEN I WENT FOR A YEAR TO U.K.,
STUDIED THEIR MATERIAL SCIENCE,
AND DISCOVERED HOW MUCH
YOU CAN LEARN WHILE BEING
IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY
LIKE A FOREIGNER.
YOU PICK UP THE STUDY,
UM, THE MATERIAL THAT YOU STUDY,
BUT YOU ALSO PICK UP
THE LANGUAGE AND THE--
ALL THE DIFFERENT IMPRESSIONS
FROM THE CULTURE,
SO THAT WAS A HUGE INSPIRATION
FOR ME, AND I DECIDED
TO KEEP ON, UH, LEARNING
MORE LANGUAGES AND CONTINUE
IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
I CONTINUED STRAIGHT IN FRANCE
TO STUDY FOR ONE AND HALF YEARS,
THEN TO SPAIN FOR HALF A YEAR,
AND THEN I WENT BACK TO GERMANY
TO FINISH MY STUDIES,
AND SO ALL THIS WAS
PART OF AN INTEGRATED PROGRAM,
AND ALLOWED ME TO, UH,
FINISH MY STUDIES
WITH FOUR DIFFERENT DEGREES.
UM, I LEARNED SO MUCH
AND I APPRECIATED SO MUCH BEING
A FOREIGNER IN--
IN ANOTHER COUNTRY,
SO THAT I THOUGHT, LIKE,
AFTER MY STUDIES,
I NEED TO TRAVEL THE WORLD
AND TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT THIS PLANET.
SO I STARTED TRAVELING,
AND THE MORE I TRAVELED,
THE MORE I GOT, UM, FASCINATED
BY THE BEAUTY OF OUR PLANET.
AND SO AFTER MY PhD,
I ALSO WENT FOR A ONE-YEAR,
AROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP.
>> I THINK MATERIAL SCIENCE
IS A SUBJECT
THAT IS HIGHLY UNDERRATED.
UM, BASICALLY,
IF YOU WANT TO DO, UH,
AN INNOVATION,
MOST OF THE TIME,
THIS INNOVATION ALSO COMPRISES
CHOOSING A NEW MATERIAL
OR BETTER MATERIAL,
OR TO OPTIMIZE THE MATERIAL
THAT YOU HAVE.
AND, UM, IT IS NOT
A DIFFICULT SUBJECT TO STUDY.
IT ALLOWS YOU
A LOT OF CREATIVITY,
AND, UM, FOR ME,
IT WAS LIKE DISCOVERING
A WHOLE NEW COSMOS,
A COSMOS IN MOLECULES.
>> DURING MY END
OF THE CAREER PROJECT,
I DEVELOPED NEW ELECTRODES
THAT WERE CONSIDERED
FOR AN ENGINE, A CAR ENGINE,
THAT NEVER HAD TO CHANGE
ITS SPARK PLUGS,
SO THE SPARK PLUGS
THAT I DEVELOPED
KIND OF LASTED LONGER
THAN THE LIFE OF THE ENGINE,
AT THE END OF MY PhD,
WHICH WAS CENTERED AROUND,
UH, METAL FOAMS,
I HAD THREE PATENTS
ON DIFFERENT WAYS
HOW TO PRODUCE METAL FOAMS
THAT ARE LIGHTER THAN,
UM, A METAL,
SO IT ACTUALLY SWIMS IN WATER,
BECAUSE IT'S LIGHTER THAN WATER,
BUT IT'S HARD AND STIFF
ON THE OUTSIDE,
AND THE INSPIRATION
THESE NEW MATERIALS TOOK,
UH, INSPIRED FROM NATURE.
IT'S LIKE A HUMAN BONE--
HOLLOW AND EMPTY AND SPONGY
ON THE INSIDE,
BUT HARD AND STABLE
AND WELL DEFINED ON THE OUTSIDE.
>> 2008, ESA STARTED
LOOKING FOR NEW ASTRONAUTS,
AND WHEN I SWITCHED ON THE TV
ON THAT CERTAIN EVENING
WHEN I CAME BACK
FROM-FROM WORK,
I SAW ON TELEVISION
ESA, UM, NEEDS NEW ASTRONAUTS,
AND I THOUGHT, LIKE, HANG ON.
IT'S, LIKE, I WAS
ALWAYS FASCINATED BY SPACE,
AND WHAT DOES AN ASTRONAUT--
WHAT DOES AN ASTRONAUT
ACTUALLY DO?
SO AN ASTRONAUT WORKS
WITH A LOT OF ENGINEERING STUFF.
WE DO SCIENCE IN SPACE.
WE WORK IN INTERNATIONAL TEAMS,
AND ALSO THE-THE ADVENTURE
THAT WE ARE ABLE
TO LIVE AS ASTRONAUTS,
AND THE COMBINATION
OF THESE FOUR FACTS,
LIKE, ENGINEERING ON THE EDGE
OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE,
SCIENCE, INTERNATIONAL TEAMS,
AND ADVENTURE THAT'S
ONLY POSSIBLE AS AN ASTRONAUT.
>> IN 2008,
ESA STARTED THE CALL TO--
FOR NEW ASTRONAUTS.
THE, UH, CALL ENDED IN 2009.
AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS,
OUT OF 8,500 APPLICANTS,
ONLY TEN CANDIDATES
PASSED ALL THE TESTS
AND WERE CONSIDERED SUITABLE
FOR ASTRONAUTS.
I WAS ONE OF THEM,
BUT THEN THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
OF ESA TOLD ME, "LOOK, I ONLY
"HAVE SIX TICKETS TO SPACE,
"AND I NEED TO SELECT FOUR
"WHO WILL NOT FLY TO SPACE,
"AND UNFORTUNATELY, MATTHIAS,
"YOU WILL NOT FLY TO SPACE."
IT WAS A BIG SHOCK FOR ME,
BUT IN THE END,
THE DIRECTOR GENERAL SAID,
LIKE, "YOU FOUR, I WANT
"TO HAVE YOU WORKING FOR ESA
"IN DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS,"
AND I JUST DECIDED TO DO THIS,
AND AFTER FOUR YEARS,
WHEN ESA EXTENDED
THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION PROGRAM,
THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
CAME BACK TO ME AND SAID, LIKE,
"YOU WERE INTERESTED
"TO BECOME AN ASTRONAUT.
"ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED?
"BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE
"A SECOND CHANCE,"
AND THAT'S HOW I ENTERED
THE ASTRONAUT CORP.
>> ESA RUNS THE CAVES TRAINING.
IT INVOLVES
LIVING SIX DAYS AND NIGHTS
IN A CAVE SYSTEM.
IT'S A HUGE SYSTEM, AND, UM,
PART OF THE JOB
IS TO EXPLORE THIS CAVE SYSTEM.
BUT THE EXPLORATION PART
IS ONLY ONE ASPECT OF IT.
THE MAIN ASPECT
IS THE TEAM ACTIVITY,
SO ALL THE ASTRONAUTS
THAT TAKE PART IN THIS TRAINING,
UM, HAVE A DIFFERENT ROLE.
ONE IS THE COMMANDER.
THE OTHER ONE IS THE SCIENTIST.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE PHOTOGRAPHER
OR A DIFFERENT ROLE,
AND EVERYONE CAN
ONLY FULFILL ITS ROLE
BY ASKING HELP,
SO YOU LEARN
HOW TO BE A FOLLOWER,
A LEADER, BY ASKING HELP,
BUT ALSO TO OFFER HELP,
AND ALL--
AND HOW TO BALANCE IT CORRECTLY.
THE SECOND PART OF, LIKE,
MY EXPLORATION EXPERIENCE, UM,
IS THE NEEMO TRAINING.
I LIVED 16 DAYS
IN THE UNDERWATER STATION,
AND WE DISCOVERED MARS,
AND WE EXPLORED MARS.
WE HAD A SPECIAL PROTOCOL
BECAUSE MARS WAS,
AT THAT TIME,
VERY FAR AWAY FROM EARTH,
SO EVERY TIME WE HAD A QUESTION,
THIS QUESTION TOOK
ABOUT 20 MINUTES
UNTIL IT REACHED, UH,
MISSION CONTROL IN HOUSTON,
AND AGAIN, 20 MINUTES
UNTIL WE RECEIVED THE ANSWER,
AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING
TO SEE YOU ASK A QUESTION
LIKE, "SHALL I TAKE
THE LEFT STONE
OR THE RIGHT STONE?"
AND THEN ONLY 40 MINUTES LATER,
YOU GET THE ANSWER,
AND BY THAT TIME,
I HAD ALREADY ASKED
MANY MORE QUESTIONS, SO, UH,
CONFUSION STARTED.
THAT'S HOW WE LEARNED
THAT YOU NEED TO COME UP
WITH AN ADDITION--
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
OPERATIONAL CONCEPT
ONCE WE FLY TO MARS.
>> SO I HAD, LIKE, I WAS
A 1-PERSON ASTRONAUT CLASS,
KIND OF, UH, OFFICIALLY BEING
PART OF THE 2008-2009
SHENANIGAN CLASS,
BUT THEY FINISHED
THEIR BASIC TRAINING
BEFORE I STARTED MINE,
AND SO PART OF MY TRAINING
IS SPECIAL, BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE
HAD DONE IT.
THERE'S THE SEA SURVIVOR
TRAINING THAT WE RUN
IN THE NORTH OF GERMANY, UH,
IN VOSTOK,
AND IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY
EYE-OPENING TRAINING.
UM, I LEARNED, LIKE,
HOW SAILORS WORK, UM,
WHEN THERE'S A FIRE
ON-ON BOARD OF A SHIP,
HOW TO SAVE A PERSON OUT OF, UH,
A CONFINED ENVIRONMENT,
HOW TO USE DIFFERENT,
UH, TECHNIQUES
TO INFLATE A LIFE RAFT
OR DIFFERENT LIFE RAFT TYPES,
HOW TO SURVIVE ON SEA.
UM, I ALSO HAD
A WINTER SURVIVAL TRAINING
IN SWEDEN, AND, UM,
THAT WAS RUN, UH,
KIND OF, LIKE,
OFFICIALLY DURING 48 HOURS.
WE HAD TO SURVIVE
WITHOUT FOOD,
WITHOUT A TENT,
WITHOUT A SLEEPING BAG,
AND, UH, WITHOUT DRINKING.
SO WE ONLY HAD AN AXE,
A KNIFE, AND SOME TOOLS
TO MAKE FIRE.
WE HAD TO BUILD A SHELTER,
AND, UM, IT WAS REALLY COLD.
I HAD WET FEET AFTER,
LIKE, ALREADY ONE HOUR,
AND, UM, WE WERE PUSHED
ON THE EDGE OF WHAT WE ARE,
LIKE, PHYSICALLY ABLE TO DO.
AND IT WAS EYE-OPENING TO SEE
HOW QUICKLY A HUMAN BEING, UM,
THE STRENGTH THAT WE HAVE
DETERIORATES.
SO AFTER ONE AND A HALF DAYS,
WE HAD ACTUALLY
TO CALL OFF THIS EXERCISE,
BECAUSE I COULD SEE
THAT MY TEAMMATES AND I,
WE WERE COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED,
AND I FAILED.
WE DID NOT SUCCEED,
BUT THE INSTRUCTORS CAME.
THEY WERE LIKE,
"OKAY, THE 48 WAS
"ONLY JUST A PRETEXT.
"WE WANTED TO PUSH YOU
"ON THE EDGE, AND WE
"ACTUALLY PUSHED YOU THERE,
"AND YOU DID ALL--
"EVERYTHING RIGHT,
"INCLUDING CALLING OFF, UM,
"THIS-THIS TRAINING."
>> WHEN I ARRIVE ON STATION,
MY ESA COLLEAGUE THOMAS PESQUET
WILL BE COMMANDER
OF THE SPACE STATION.
HE WILL BE ALREADY--
IN TOTAL HAVE ONE YEAR IN SPACE,
SO HE'S REALLY EXPERIENCED,
AND I HOPE THAT HE SHOWS ME
SOME OF HIS TRICKS AND SKILLS,
AND, UM, THEN WE WILL
HAVE TO HAND OVER.
I WILL TAKE OVER THE LEAD
OF COLUMBUS, UH, MODULE,
AND I WILL ALSO TAKE OVER
THE LEAD OF THE JAXA MODULE,
AND AKI WILL HELP ME,
UH, IN TAKING OVER THAT ONE.
AND, UM, BEFORE THOMAS LEAVES
THE SPACE STATION,
WE WILL HAVE A PAO EVENT,
BECAUSE HE AND ME,
WE WORK QUITE A BIT TOGETHER
IN THE PAST IN, UH, GERMANY
AND FRANCE, UH,
TWO OF THE MAIN LEADERS
IN EUROPE FOR THE HUMAN SPACE
FLIGHT PROGRAM.
AND SO WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE
THIS, UM, TO EUROPE
AND KIND OF FOSTER
THE FASCINATION OF--
FOR SPACE IN EUROPE.
>> THE NAME OF MY MISSION
IS COSMIC KISS.
IT'S A DECLARATION OF LOVE
TO SPACE AND ESPECIALLY
TO THE TWO ONLY OASIS
THAT WE HAVE IN SPACE--
OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET EARTH
AND THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
AND COSMIC KISS--
THE PATCH IS INSPIRED BY,
UH, THE SKY DISC OF NEBRA.
IT'S A 4,000-YEAR-OLD DISC
THAT WAS FOUND IN GERMANY,
AND IT SHOWS TO ME THAT PEOPLE
ALREADY 4,000 YEARS AGO
WATCHED THE NIGHT SKY
AND WERE FASCINATED
WITH THE UNIVERSE.
AND THEY PROBABLY ASKED
THE SAME QUESTIONS
THAT WE ASK OURSELVES.
HOW DID THE UNIVERSE START?
LIKE, HOW DID LIFE
COME TO OUR PLANET EARTH?
IS THERE LIFE
SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE?
>> I THINK WE WAKE UP,
AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE
A NICE BREAKFAST--
PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW DAYS
THAT I'LL ACTUALLY TAKE
A BREAKFAST.
UM, AFTER BREAKFAST,
WE HAVE BOWEL CLEANING.
IT'S THE NOT-SO-FUNNY PART
OF IT, AND THEN I THINK
WE DRESS UP,
AND WE DRIVE OUT,
UH, TO OUR ROCKET,
AND THEN WE LAUNCH.
>> SO MOST OF MY COLLEAGUES
TOLD ME THE LAUNCH
IS MUCH SMOOTHER
THAN YOU EXPECT,
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD
THE CHANCE TO RUN THE G-PROFILE,
SO WE WENT TO THE CENTRIFUGE
AND RAN THROUGH EXACTLY
THE ACCELERATION PROFILE
THAT WE WILL LIFT THROUGH
DURING THE LAUNCH AND, UH,
I EXPECTED IT
TO BE MUCH ROUGHER,
MUCH MORE WILD, BUT, OKAY.
SO I THINK I'M KIND OF PREPARED,
BUT, UH, WE WILL SEE
ON LAUNCH DAY
HOW EXCITED I AM.
>> I HAVE THE PLEASURE
THAT I CAN ENJOY THE LAUNCH
IN ALL, UH, EXTENT,
BECAUSE AS A MISSION SPECIALIST,
I DON'T HAVE TO FLY THE VEHICLE.
THAT'S ALL DONE
BY THE COMMAND AND THE PILOT,
SO I WILL JUST ENJOY.
>> AS A EUROPEAN ASTRONAUT,
I SPENT MOST OF MY TRAINING TIME
IN THE U.S., SO, UH,
I ACTUALLY SAID GOODBYE TO
MOST OF MY FRIENDS IN GERMANY.
I MET THEM, LIKE, LAST WEEK.
SO THREE MONTHS
BEFORE THE LAUNCH,
I HAD, UM, ALREADY
TO SAY GOODBYE TO MOST OF THEM,
AND SOME OF THEM MIGHT COME
AND JOIN US FOR LAUNCH
AND, UH, JUST GIVE US A WAVE
WHEN WE LAUNCH TO SPACE.
>> AS AN ASTRONAUT,
I HAVE THE HONOR TO BE
ON THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG,
LIKE, THE VISIBLE TIP
OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE
THAT CONTRIBUTE,
THAT HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT
IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF ENGINEERS
WHO DEVELOP THE HARDWARE--
THE ROCKETS, THE--
ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS
IN THE SPACE STATION,
THE PEOPLE
IN THE FLIGHT CONTROL TEAM.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT TAKE CARE
OF THE CREW,
THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY,
THAT MAKES US FIT
AND CHECKS THAT WE ARE SAFE
IN SPACE,
SO THERE'S A HUGE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE IN EUROPE,
IN THE U.S., IN RUSSIA,
IN CANADA, IN JAPAN.
I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU
TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME
TO, UH, ARRIVE AT THAT POINT
THAT I AM AT TODAY, AND, UM,
I WILL BE THINKING OF YOU
WHEN I FLY TO SPACE,
AND, UM, I SEND ALL MY LOVE
TO YOU DOWN ON THE GROUND.