Marcus Wandt

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Marcus Wandt
ESA astronaut announcement Class of 2022 (52519901790) (cropped).jpg
Wandt at announcement of ESA Astronaut Class of 2022
Born (1980-09-22) September 22, 1980 (age 43)
Mora, Sweden
StatusActive
Nationality Swedish, Norwegian [1]
Alma mater Chalmers University of Technology
Space career
ESA Project Astronaut
Time in space
21d 15h 41m
Missions Axiom-3
Notes

Marcus Wandt (born September 22, 1980) is a Swedish test pilot and member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group. [8] In January 2024, he became the third Swedish astronaut to visit space, after Christer Fuglesang and Jessica Meir. [9] [10]

Contents

Pre-ESA Career

From 2003 to 2014, Wandt was a fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force, flying the Saab JAS 39 Gripen. In 2004, he joined the Swedish Air Force Flying Training School, where he received basic flight training. He received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in 2007. From 2013 to 2014, he trained at the United States Naval Test Pilot School where he graduated at the top of his class to become an experimental test pilot. In 2014 he joined SAAB Aeronautics as an experimental test pilot, before being promoted to chief test pilot and head of flight operations in 2020.

ESA career

Marcus Wandt during ESA astronaut announcement, 2022 ESA astronaut announcement Class of 2022 (52519699154).jpg
Marcus Wandt during ESA astronaut announcement, 2022

Wandt credits his wife with discovering and showing him the ESA application. [11] ESA chose Marcus and 16 others, out of a total of approximately 22,500 applicants. [12] In November 2022, Wandt was chosen as a member of ESA class of reserve astronauts [13] and June 2023, ESA proposed Marcus Wandt for an upcoming flight from Axiom Mission 3. [14] As a consequence he transitioned from reserve to "project astronaut" status.

Wandt is the first of any of the 2022 ESA astronauts to undertake a mission, [15] and the fastest-trained astronaut in history; by contrast, Christer Fuglesang, the first Swede in space, flew 14 years after selection. [16] The mission was called "Muninn" [17] and coincides with the "Huginn" mission of Danish European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen aboard the International Space Station. [18] Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens in Norse mythology.

A total of 400,000,000 kr, about ( US$47,000,000) with exchange rate at the time, has been invested in the mission. [19] Saab was the largest private investor in the mission. [20]

Swedish National Space Agency together with Swedish researchers provided a lot of suggestions for research to undertake in space during Wandt's mission. Research planned during the space mission included stem cell research led by Uppsala University and improved cognition research led by KTH Royal Institute of Technology. [21]

The Axiom Mission 3 took place 18 January 2024 to 9 February 2024 and included 18 days stay at International Space Station.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huginn and Muninn</span> Pair of ravens in Norse mythology that serve Odin

In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the god Odin. Huginn and Muninn are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources: the Prose Edda and Heimskringla; in the Third Grammatical Treatise, compiled in the 13th century by Óláfr Þórðarson; and in the poetry of skalds. The names of the ravens are sometimes anglicized as Hugin and Munin, the same spelling as used in modern Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Space Corporation</span> Swedish government-owned space company

The Swedish Space Corporation, SSC, also registered as Svenska rymdaktiebolaget, is a Swedish space services company. SSC operations consist of launches of sounding rockets and stratospheric balloons, tests of future generation rocket engines and new rocket fuels, operation and maintenance of space and aviation systems, as well as satellite communications through the use of SSC ground stations deployed around the world. SSC is also working on developing its Space Surveillance Tracking (SST) and Space Traffic Management (STM) programs with the aim to identify, assess and minimize risks of collisions and disruptions associated with space debris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christer Fuglesang</span> Swedish physicist and ESA astronaut (born 1957)

Arne Christer Fuglesang is a Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut. He was first launched aboard the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006, making him the first Swedish citizen in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulf Kristersson</span> Prime Minister of Sweden since 2022

Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since October 2017 and a member of the Riksdag (MP) for Södermanland County since 2014 and for Stockholm County from 1991 to 2000. He previously served as Minister for Social Security from 2010 to 2014 and as Chairman of the Moderate Youth League from 1988 to 1992.

The European Astronaut Corps is a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on the International Space Station (ISS). The European Astronaut Corps is based at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. They can be assigned to various projects both in Europe or elsewhere in the world, at NASA Johnson Space Center or Star City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Höij</span>

Helena Margareta Höij is a Swedish politician and civil servant who currently serves as Governor of Dalarna County since 1 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda Ernkrans</span> Swedish politician (born 1973)

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The Blekinge-class submarine is the next generation of submarines developed by Kockums for the Swedish Navy, also known as the A26 type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Play Rapport</span> Swedish news website

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Link</span> Railway tunnel in Gothenburg, Sweden

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Mogensen</span> Danish engineer and astronaut (born 1976)

Andreas Enevold "Andy" Mogensen is a Danish engineer and ESA astronaut who is best known for being the first Dane to fly in space as part of the European Space Agency's Iriss program. Mogensen has also been involved in a number of other space-related projects throughout his career, including working as a test engineer for ESTEC and as a member of the European Astronaut Corps. In addition to his work with ESA, he has also worked with NASA and other international space agencies. Mogensen returned to space in August 2023 for his second spaceflight to the ISS onboard SpaceX Crew Dragon as the first non-American to serve as a pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Meir</span> American astronaut and marine biologist

Jessica Ulrika Meir is an American NASA astronaut, marine biologist, and physiologist. She was previously an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, following postdoctoral research in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia. She has studied the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins in Antarctica, and the physiology of bar-headed geese, which are able to migrate over the Himalayas. In September 2002, Meir served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 4 crew. In 2013, she was selected by NASA to Astronaut Group 21. In 2016, Meir participated in ESA CAVES, a training course in which international astronauts train in a space-analogue cave environment. Meir launched on September 25, 2019, to the ISS onboard Soyuz MS-15, where she served as a flight Engineer during Expedition 61 and 62. On October 18, 2019, Meir and Christina Koch were the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Eliasson</span> Swedish lawyer and civil servant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group</span> Human spaceflight selection

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axiom Mission 3</span> 2024 private crewed spaceflight to the ISS

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References

  1. ↑ "Svensknorsk astronaut klar for romstasjonen". Norsk Romsenter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  2. ↑ "Astronauts: Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  3. ↑ "Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  4. ↑ "Marcus Wandt". Merinfo (in Swedish). 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  5. ↑ "Marcus Wandt i intensiv träning". Swedish National Space Agency (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  6. ↑ "Marcus Wandt". Axiom Space . Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  7. ↑ "Utbildning vid USNTPS". Swedish Armed Forces (in Swedish). 2014-06-28. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  8. ↑ "Biographies of the ESA Reserve Astronauts: Marcus Wandt". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  9. ↑ "Astronauten Marcus Wandt blir näste svensk i rymden" (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  10. ↑ "Muninn mission: ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  11. ↑ Radio, Sveriges (2023-10-12). "Han är Sveriges nya astronaut – frun tipsade om annonsen". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  12. ↑ Nyheter, SVT (2023-06-16). "Marcus Wandt blir Sveriges nya astronaut: "Otroligt stolt"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  13. ↑ "Marcus Wandt". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  14. ↑ "N° 28–2023: ESA proposes Marcus Wandt from Sweden to fly on a future Axiom space mission". European space agency . 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023..
  15. ↑ "Marcus Wandt will fly to International Space Station on third Axiom Space mission". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  16. ↑ Campanello, Simon (2023-12-31). "Marcus Wandt: "Jag blir astronaut i rekordfart"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  17. ↑ "Muninn mission patch and name". Agence spatiale européenne . 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023..
  18. ↑ Robert Lea (2023-06-20). "Swedish astronaut 'fast-tracked' to join crew of upcoming private Axiom Space mission". Space.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  19. ↑ Nyheter, SVT (2023-06-16). "Marcus Wandt blir Sveriges nya astronaut: "Otroligt stolt"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  20. ↑ "Saab-pilot nästa svensk i rymden". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  21. ↑ "Sveriges nya astronaut". Swedish National Space Agency (in Swedish). 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
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