Maurer: ISS still a peace project 25 years after the start of construction
Despite the tensions between Russia and the West, Esa astronaut Matthias Maurer still sees the International Space Station ISS as a peace project 25 years after its construction began. "Definitely. When you look down on Earth from there, you ask yourself: what could we achieve if we could work together down there as well as we do up here?" the European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut told the German Press Agency.
25 years ago, on November 20, 1998, a rocket carried the first component for the ISS into space. So far, its operation is considered secure until 2030. Maurer (55) traveled to the ISS in 2021.
The view from the outpost of humanity changes you, he said. "Even if you are a very logical person. It makes you very humble and warms your heart. This flight has shaped me." He looks back on the end of the lab with melancholy. "It makes me sad to think that it will be over in a few years. For me, it was a piece of home, my house in the sky for six months," said the Saarland native. "When I said goodbye to the ISS, it was hard to imagine that this wonderful station would be sunk into the sea at some point."
Maurer sees commercial space stations as the successor to the ISS. "In the long term, Europe and the USA also want to continue research in zero gravity. I think low-Earth orbit will be like a marketplace. Perhaps one space station will offer biotechnology research, another materials science, another will call out to tourists. The whole thing will then have to settle down."
The concept of space travel continues to be driven by science, as demonstrated by Maurer's proposal for a marketplace of commercial space stations in low-Earth orbit, each focusing on different areas of research or tourism. Furthering space exploration, Maurer believes, could foster cooperation between Europe and the USA, emulating the peace project nature of the International Space Station ISS.
Source: www.dpa.com
