Fire drill for ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst

Credit: ESA

Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Fire drill for ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst

It is a scenario nobody wants to experience: a fire on the International Space Station but astronauts living and working in humanity's orbital outpost must be prepared for all eventualities.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst (white t-shirt) and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman (blue) are practising a fire drill training in NASA's Space Station mock-up in Houston, USA.

This is just one of many simulations in the run-up to their mission, to be launched this May.

Wiseman couldn't wish for a better crewmate for this exercise – Gerst was a volunteer firefighter in his school years.

Alexander Gerst is flight engineer for Expedition 40/41, which will be launched to the Station in May 2014 on a long-duration mission to run science experiments and maintain humankind's space base.