Andre Kuipers Dutch physician and European Space Agency astronaut Date of Birth: 05.10.1958 Country: Netherlands

1. Early Life and Education
2. Military and Medical Career
3. Selection as an Astronaut
4. ESA Training and First Mission
5. ISS Training and Second Mission
6. Expedition 30 to the ISS

Early Life and Education

André Kuipers, a Dutch physician and astronaut, was born in Amsterdam on October 5, 1958. After graduating high school in 1977, he studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam, earning his doctorate in medicine in 1987.

Military and Medical Career

Kuipers served in the Royal Netherlands Air Force from 1987 to 1988, where he specialized in aviation medicine, particularly in spatial disorientation incidents. Subsequently, he joined the Space Medicine Center in Soesterberg as a researcher. His work focused on astronaut adaptation in space, including the effects on pilots' contact lenses, vestibular systems, blood pressure, and cerebral circulation.

Selection as an Astronaut

In 1991, Kuipers was selected as one of five finalists for the first European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut team. While he was not initially chosen, he continued to work with ESA in medical roles, contributing to the design and implementation of numerous biological experiments.

ESA Training and First Mission

In 1998, Kuipers was officially accepted into the ESA astronaut corps. He completed his basic space training in 2002 and was assigned as a flight engineer for the 6th Russian mission to the International Space Station (ISS). However, following the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, the crew was reduced to two astronauts.

Kuipers was eventually selected for the 9th ISS expedition, launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft on April 19, 2004. During his 10-day mission, he participated in European research programs aboard the ISS.

ISS Training and Second Mission

In 2007, Kuipers participated in survival training in a forest near Moscow. In 2008, he was named as part of the backup crew for the 20th ISS mission. He also took part in water landing training in Sevastopol in 2008.

Expedition 30 to the ISS

On August 5, 2009, Kuipers was announced as part of the crew for the 30th ISS expedition. The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft, carrying Kuipers and his crewmates, launched on December 21, 2011, and successfully docked with the ISS two days later. He is scheduled to return from his second ISS mission in September 2012.