ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst enters the ISS

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst as the hatch opens separating the Soyuz  spacecraft and the International Space Station, his new home for six months.  

The launch of Expedition 40/41 with Alexander Gerst, NASA astronaut Reid  Wiseman and Roscosmos commander Maxim Suraev from Baikonur Cosmodrome in  Kazakhstan took place six hours earlier.  

Their spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-13M was propelled to the International Space  Station at 21:57 CEST.  Alexander has 100 experiments planned for his Blue Dot mission.