27 July 2017
Matthias Maurer is the new German space traveller in the ESA astronaut corps. He is currently completing his basic astronaut training, which involves commuting between Cologne, Houston and Moscow. Beijing will be added to his travel itinerary in summer, as Maurer was already responsible for maintaining Sino-European relationships at ESA before joining the astronaut programme. Now, for the first time, astronauts and taikonauts will train together in the Far East. He would find a trip to the 'Heavenly Palace' - China's space station - as wonderful an experience as a flight to the International Space Station ISS.
Martin Fleischmann, editor at the German Aerospace Centre DLR, interviewed Dr. Matthias Maurer.
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