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Endurance undocked autonomously from the International Space Station at 06:20 BST/07:20 CEST on Thursday 5 May. Its return marked the end of Matthias’s first space mission ‘Cosmic Kiss’ and 177 days in space for Crew-3.

During his time on Station, Matthias supported over 35 European and many more international experiments in microgravity. He also supported International Space Station operations and maintenance and performed a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Raja Chari on 23 March 2022.

From Florida to Cologne

When a Crew capsule splashes down, nearby ships are deployed to hoist the capsule out of the water, open the hatch and welcome its crew back to Earth. After initial medical checks, crew members are transported by helicopter to shore where planes are waiting to bring them to their final destinations.

For Matthias, this destination is ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and the German Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) ‘Envihab’ facility. Here, he will participate in debriefings, provide samples for scientific evaluation and readapt to Earth’s gravity with the support of medical experts over the coming weeks.

Cosmic Kiss meets Minerva

Prior to his departure, Matthias had the rare opportunity for an in-orbit handover with another ESA astronaut. Samantha Cristoforetti arrived with Crew-4 in Crew Dragon Freedom at 12:37 BST/01:37 CEST on Thursday 28 April 2022 for her second space mission, ‘Minerva’.

“Thank you to everyone around the world for your incredible support of this mission,” Matthias said before he left the Station. “I am very happy to see Samantha up here continuing Europe’s human presence in space and I’m convinced that she will continue all the outstanding work that was prepared by scientists on the ground.”

Mission Minerva meets Cosmic Kiss | Two astronauts in orbit
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To learn more about the missions of Matthias and Samantha, visit the Cosmic Kiss and Minerva mission pages.