Marcus Wandt

Marcus Wandt
Wandt at announcement of ESA Astronaut Class of 2022
Born	(1980-09-22) September 22, 1980 (age 44) Mora, Sweden
Status	Active
Nationality	Swedish, Norwegian[1]
Alma mater	Chalmers University of Technology
Occupation	Test pilot
Space career
ESA Project Astronaut
Rank	Lt. Colonel
Time in space	21d 15h 41m
Missions	Axiom-3
Notes
[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Marcus Wandt (born September 21, 1980) is a Swedish test pilot and member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group.^[8] In January 2024, he became the third Swedish astronaut to visit space, after Christer Fuglesang and Jessica Meir.^[9][10]

Pre-ESA Career

From 2003 to 2014, Wandt was a fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force, flying the Saab JAS 39 Gripen. In 2004, he joined the Swedish Air Force Flying Training School, where he received basic flight training. He received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in 2007. From 2013 to 2014, he trained at the United States Naval Test Pilot School where he graduated at the top of his class to become an experimental test pilot. In 2014 he joined SAAB Aeronautics as an experimental test pilot, before being promoted to chief test pilot and head of flight operations in 2020. He is also a member of the Swedish skeptics association Vetenskap och Folkbildning.^[11]

Euoropean Space Agency career

Marcus Wandt during ESA astronaut announcement, 2022

Wandt credits his wife with discovering and showing him the ESA application.^[12] ESA chose Marcus and 16 others, out of a total of approximately 22,500 applicants.^[13] In November 2022, Wandt was chosen as a member of ESA class of reserve astronauts^[14] and June 2023, ESA proposed Marcus Wandt for an upcoming flight from Axiom Mission 3.^[15] As a consequence he transitioned from reserve to "project astronaut" status.

Wandt is the first of any of the 2022 ESA astronauts to undertake a mission,^[16] and the fastest-trained astronaut in history; by contrast, Christer Fuglesang, the first Swede in space, flew 14 years after selection.^[17] The mission was called "Muninn"^[18] and coincides with the "Huginn" mission of Danish European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen aboard the International Space Station.^[19] Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens in Norse mythology.

A total of 400,000,000 kr, about (US$47,000,000) with exchange rate at the time, has been invested in the mission.^[20] Saab was the largest private investor in the mission.^[21]

Swedish National Space Agency together with Swedish researchers provided a lot of suggestions for research to undertake in space during Wandt's mission. Research planned during the space mission included stem cell research led by Uppsala University and improved cognition research led by KTH Royal Institute of Technology.^[22]

The Axiom Mission 3 took place 18 January 2024 to 9 February 2024 and included 18 days stay at International Space Station.

References

1. "Svensknorsk astronaut klar for romstasjonen". Norsk Romsenter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
2. "Astronauts: Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
3. "Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
4. "Marcus Wandt". Merinfo (in Swedish). 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
5. "Marcus Wandt i intensiv träning". Swedish National Space Agency (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
6. "Marcus Wandt". Axiom Space. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
7. "Utbildning vid USNTPS". Swedish Armed Forces (in Swedish). 2014-06-28. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
8. "Biographies of the ESA Reserve Astronauts: Marcus Wandt". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
9. "Astronauten Marcus Wandt blir näste svensk i rymden" (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
10. "Muninn mission: ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt". European Space Agency. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
11. "VoF flyger högt på Bokmässan 2024" [VoF flies high at the Book Fair 2024] (in Swedish). 2024.
12. Radio, Sveriges (2023-10-12). "Han är Sveriges nya astronaut – frun tipsade om annonsen". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
13. Nyheter, SVT (2023-06-16). "Marcus Wandt blir Sveriges nya astronaut: "Otroligt stolt"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
14. "Marcus Wandt". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
15. "N° 28–2023: ESA proposes Marcus Wandt from Sweden to fly on a future Axiom space mission". European Space Agency. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023..
16. "Marcus Wandt will fly to International Space Station on third Axiom Space mission". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
17. Campanello, Simon (2023-12-31). "Marcus Wandt: "Jag blir astronaut i rekordfart"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
18. "Muninn mission patch and name". Agence spatiale européenne. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023..
19. Robert Lea (2023-06-20). "Swedish astronaut 'fast-tracked' to join crew of upcoming private Axiom Space mission". Space.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
20. Nyheter, SVT (2023-06-16). "Marcus Wandt blir Sveriges nya astronaut: "Otroligt stolt"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
21. "Saab-pilot nästa svensk i rymden". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
22. "Sveriges nya astronaut". Swedish National Space Agency (in Swedish). 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-12-31.