Marcus Wandt is the first in the new generation of ESA astronauts on a commercial spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space. The Swedish astronaut is now following an intensive training programme to meet the high standards required for space flight.
Marcus has followed lessons at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany and at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands, ESTEC. From teleoperating robots to virtual tours around the International Space Station and fundamental physics experiments, Marcus’s learning curve is steep.
ESA and SNSA are working on an ambitious scientific, technological, and educational programme for Marcus’s space mission.
Muninn takes its name from Norse mythology and the two raven accomplices of the god Odin – Muninn and Huginn. Muninn comes from the Old Norse word munr, that can be translated as passion and emotion, linking to Marcus’s enthusiasm for spaceflight. Huginn is the name of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s International Space Station mission.
The patch shows the raven gliding around Earth to share the knowledge collected from Marcus’s mission and has several references to Marcus’s homeland and his career as a jet and test pilot for the Swedish Air Force.