Alexander Gerst is a German European Space Agency astronaut and geophysicist, who was selected in 2009 to take part in space training. He was part of the International Space Station Expedition 40 and 41 from May to November 2014. Gerst returned to space on June 6, 2018, as part of Expedition 56/57 as the ISS Commander.
Soyuz TMA-13M begins expedition 40 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Maksim Surayev alongside Flight Engineers, Gregory R. Wiseman (NASA) & Alexander Gerst (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on 10 November 2014 03:58 UTC
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz MS-09 begins expedition 56 by carrying Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor to the International Space Station. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.
Low Earth Orbit #SoyuzMS09The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.