Marcus Wandt landed at KTH
After 22 days in space, astronaut Marcus Wandt has landed at KTH. In front of a packed auditorium, he talked about his journey before, after and during the space flight.
“It's so fascinating that you can actually become an astronaut when you study at KTH. I cut out pictures of Christer Fuglesang and put them on the wall when I was a kid," Anni Bäckman says.
She is in her third year of technical physics and has been queuing for a place in the auditorium for several hours.
“It's important to take advantage of the opportunity. How often do you get the chance to listen to an astronaut in real life,” Karl Ståhlgren says, a third-year electrical engineering student. He is one of the nearly 600 people standing in the winding queue in the snow.
Marcus Wandt talked about the feeling of launching in space and, for that matter, landing, in both body and mind and how elusive the lack of gravity was and the beauty of the many shades of blue in the atmosphere.
“I hadn't expected the feeling of speed as we went up, which just accelerated. It was amazing”, Wandt says.
A lot to learn
In addition to a detailed schedule packed with five-minute segments in which the astronauts participated in various research projects, including one linked to KTH research on how physical and mental health is affected by being in space for a long time, he tried to introduce some Swedish fika.
“ There is so much that we can learn from these journeys that we don't yet know, that we didn't know we were looking for and that can be of great benefit. After all, we also have a responsibility for future generations when it comes to our planet”, Wandt says.
Marcus Wandt has a background as an engineer from Chalmers and as a fighter pilot.
Also on stage was Christer Fuglesang, professor of spaceflight and director of KTH's Space Centre. He belongs to the same exclusive group and made a space journey almost 20 years ago.
“Yes, it really awakes the astronaut's spirit when I've seen Marcus join the space journey, “he says.
"Follow your dreams"
When asked about the best tip for becoming an astronaut, Marcus Wandt's answer is short and sweet:
“Follow your dreams. I probably thought when I was younger that it was unlikely that I would become an astronaut, but not impossible. It's important to recognize the difference and dare to try.”
Christer Fuglesang notes that studying at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and becoming an engineer is a good start, you have to be lucky to have good physics and not least be sociable.
“Being an astronaut is a team effort and then you should be able to share what you have been through,” Fuglesang says.
Text: Jill Klackenberg
Photo: Mikael Sjöberg