Blue Dot mission logo revealed
26 September 2013
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst is going to the International Space Station for six months on 28 May 2014. Last Sunday, his mission patch was finally revealed.
The mission logo is inspired by an image of Earth taken by NASA’s Voyager spacecraft as it travelled six billion kilometres from our planet. American astronomer Carl Sagan described our faintly visible planet on the photograph as "a pale blue dot".
During his stay on the ISS, Alex will be busy running around 40 experiments in materials physics, human physiology, radiation biology, solar research, biotechnology, fluid physics, astrophysics and technology demonstrations. All experiments are designed to improve life on Earth and prepare further exploration projects.
After conquering remote mountains and working in Antarctica, Alex, who is a geophysicist and volcanologist, will become the third German to visit the Station. His mission has the theme 'shaping the future', and will include an educational programme to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.
