How many times has Alexander Gerst been to the ISS?

Alexander Gerst launched in 2014 aboard a Soyuz for his first long-duration stay and took part in Expeditions 40 and 41. The program included experiments in materials science, biology and medicine, plus a spacewalk in which, together with a NASA colleague, he carried out work outside the station. The flight became well known in Germany also because Gerst constantly photographed and shared the images directly on social media: deserts, storms, cities at night, accompanied by brief explanations with no institutional tone.

Four years later he flew again, this time as a member of Expeditions 56 and 57. In the second half of his stay he took command of the space station, becoming the first German to hold that post. The period was turbulent: a leak was detected and sealed in the docked Soyuz, and the launch of a relief crew was aborted following a launcher failure, which disrupted the station's operational plan. Gerst returned to Earth at the end of the year.

Gerst remains part of the European astronaut corps and has since worked mostly on the ground, as is common among experienced astronauts. On the list of German astronauts, he ranks between Sigmund Jähn, the first German to fly to space, Thomas Reiter, the first German long-duration astronaut, and Matthias Maurer, who flew to the station some years after him. Two long-duration stays plus command of the station remain the exception in Europe: most astronauts only ever fly once.