Excited German astronaut Maurer before an external mission to the International Space Station

“It’s a very exciting thing and I’m really looking forward to it,” Maurer said on Monday. In a short video, published by the European Space Agency ESA. “It will be a highlight of my space journey.”

During the mission, which will last about six and a half hours at an altitude of 400 kilometers above the surface of the Earth, Maurer will handle maintenance work with American Raja Chari. Among other things, the two are slated to connect new hoses to the cooling system, replace the camera and establish power and data connections on the Bartolomeo offshore European research platform.

Stroll along the space station

Maurer said Shari will be working in various places on the International Space Station. According to the plan, he himself will “almost wander around the entire space station” during work, some people even joke that he should take his passport with him.

On November 11, Maurer and three colleagues from NASA traveled in a US spacecraft to the International Space Station, where he will remain until the end of April. The 52-year-old from Saarland is the 12th German in space and 4th on the International Space Station. His three predecessors in the outpost of humanity had also completed a meticulously planned and physically demanding field mission: Thomas Reiter (2006), Hans Schlegel (2008) and Alexander Gerst (2014).