Medical experiments in space

The SpaceX carrier rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S. early on Thursday morning, Central European Time. The ‘Cosmic Kiss’ mission’s four crew members will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on board a Crew Dragon capsule. They will remain on the ISS until April 2022. Joining his three NASA colleagues is ESA astronaut Dr. Matthias Maurer, the 12th German in space and the fourth German on the ISS. This will be the 51-year-old materials scientist’s first-ever space flight, for which he has been training and preparing since April 2020.