Welcome home Matthias

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer waves and smiles aboard SpaceX recovery boat Shannon after exiting Crew Dragon Endurance, which splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico at 05:43 BST/06:43 CEST Friday 6 May 2022.

The return of Endurance marks the end of 177 days in space for Crew-3 and Matthias's first mission 'Cosmic Kiss'.

After initial medical checks aboard the recovery vessel, Matthias and his Crew-3 crew mates NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron will travel by helicopter to shore where a plane waits to bring Matthias back to ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.