Mattia Balsamini

Horizons 57 – The preparation of Alexander Gerst

The visual essay shows the astronaut’s preparation process between Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted and Star City – a common name of an area in Zvyozdny gorodok, Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst is the first of ESA’s class of 2009 astronauts who was be sent into space for a second time, launching on Soyuz MS-09 together with NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps and Russian spacecraft commander Sergei Prokopyev in May 2018. His first mission, Blue Dot, in 2014, lasted from May to November 2014. Gerst has also been the first German Astronaut to be Captain of an international mission.
“Horizons are a symbol for the unknown and when I gaze at the horizon I cannot help but wonder what lies behind it. For this reason we run scientific experiments on the Space Station: we want to broaden our horizons as humankind.” A.G.
The visual essay shows the astronaut’s preparation process between Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted and Star City – a common name of an area in Zvyozdny gorodok, Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, an astronaut training facility with a pool containing a 1:1 replica of the International Space Station. In this image Gerst is preparing for a long underwater training in preparation for Expedition 57. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst during a simulated ammonia leak in the ISS. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
A supervisor during an ISS simulation training. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, an astronaut training facility with a pool containing a 1:1 replica of the International Space Station. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Radars. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst training at the gym labs. The devices are identical to the ones present at the ISS, where in absence of gravity body weight needs to be simulated trough extra weight. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst training at the gym labs. The devices are identical to the ones present at the ISS, where in absence of gravity body weight needs to be simulated trough extra weight. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst's undewater suit. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Astronauts housing in Star City, a common name of an area in Zvyozdny gorodok, Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC). Officially, the area was known as "closed military townlet No. 1". Star City, Russia, 2018
Alexander Gerst at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, an astronaut training facility with a pool containing a 1:1 replica of the International Space Station. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018
Alexander Gerst's underwater suit. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, 2018 gli addestramenti subacquei.
Alexander Gerst during a Soyuz Rocket simulation. Soyuz is the name by which a series of vehicles was developed for the space program of the Soviet Union is known. The first manned flight took place on April 23, 1967, ended with the death of pilot Vladimir Komarov. Since 2011, the year in which the Space Shuttle service ended, waiting for the new generation of space craft, the Soyuz is the only spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. Star City, Russia, 2018
The ISS Replica for Astronauts training. Star City, Russia, 2018
From left to right astronauts: Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor (NASA), Alexander Gerst (ESA), Sergei Prokopyev (Roscosmos) walking toward the Soyuz Simulator. Star City, Russia, 2018
Alexander Gerst during a Soyuz Rocket simulation. Soyuz is the name by which a series of vehicles was developed for the space program of the Soviet Union is known. The first manned flight took place on April 23, 1967, ended with the death of pilot Vladimir Komarov. Since 2011, the year in which the Space Shuttle service ended, waiting for the new generation of space craft, the Soyuz is the only spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. Star City, Russia, 2018
Febraury 2018. Star City, Russia.Astronauts Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor (NASA), Alexander Gerst (ESA), Sergei Prokopyev (Roscosmos) inside the Soyuz Simulator.Febbraio 2018. Star City, Russia.Gli astronauti Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor (NASA), Alexander Gerst (ESA), Sergei Prokopyev (Roscosmos) all'interno del simulatore Soyuz.
Astronauts Alexander Gerst entering the Soyuz Simulator. Star City, Russia, 2018