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European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Marcus Wandt, who recently returned to Earth after spending approximately three weeks on the International Space Station, has shared a video of him performing a “space waltz.” Wandt, who was part of the Axiom 3 Mission, the first all-European commercial flight to the space station, returned to Earth on February 9. In the video, you can see Wandt, who is a Swedish astronaut, taking advantage of microgravity to dance and spin in the air.
In an Instagram post, he wrote that the training prepared him for most of the tasks he performed during his first mission to space, called the Muninn mission. He also said that one thing that was difficult to train was getting used to the feeling of microgravity and determining how hard he had to work to get his body to move at the speed he wanted. It was also a challenge to understand how he should turn a corner or reposition himself.
Since all this was difficult to learn on Earth, he had to practice a little on the space station, the astronaut wrote.
Wandt has also shared a video of how storms appear from space. She wrote in a separate Instagram post that thunderstorms are powerful and beautiful phenomena to witness, especially from space. These observations can help scientists better understand the dynamics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere in a changing climate.
These results can improve climate, atmosphere and weather models.
Previously, the Swedish astronaut also shared four photographs of the space station taken from inside the orbital laboratory.
In two of the images you can see the Earth, the clouds and some modules of the space station. The other images are of parts of the space station seen through a window.
Wandt is the second Swedish ESA astronaut to fly to the ISS, after Christer Fuglesang, who visited the orbital laboratory in 2006 and 2009.
The Axiom Mission 3 crew members, in addition to Wandt, were Michael López-Alegría and Alper GezaravcI.
Wandt and GezaravcI were mission specialists.
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GezaravcI is a fighter pilot in the Turkish Air Force and the first Turkish astronaut to fly in space.
Therefore, Axiom Mission 3 is also the first mission to send a Turkish astronaut into space.
Villadei is the eighth Italian astronaut to go to space.
Axiom Mission 3 is an important mission for Axiom Space because it will pave the way toward the construction of Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station.