Alexander Gerst, German ESA astronaut, in Extravehicular Activity (EVA) training. Here he is in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA's Sonny Carter Training Facility, near Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Alexander is in preparation for his mission to the International Space Station in 2014, as a flight engineer for Expeditions 40 and 41.

Alexander Gerst was born in Künzelsau, Germany, in 1976. He studied at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, where he received a diploma in geophysics. He also studied Earth Science at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, where he was awarded a Master of Science. He has been working as a researcher since 2001. In his spare time he enjoys mountaineering, diving, climbing and skydiving.