Two space explorers met recently at ESA's Columbus Control Centre in Germany – one returning from orbit, one preparing for liftoff.

ESA project astronauts Marcus Wandt from Sweden and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland stand at the epicentre of this image together with the team supporting their Muninn and Ignis missions from ground control.

Their raised fingers are a call to celebrate their Axiom Space flight opportunities: three fingers up for Marcus’s Axiom Mission 3, and four for Sławosz’s Axiom Mission 4. The astronaut encounter served as a transition from the previous mission to the next one.

The Columbus Control Centre keeps an eye on ESA astronauts in space and European experiments running on the International Space Station at all times. Located in Oberpfaffenhofen, not far from Munich, the centre is filled with an array of screens that teams use to constantly monitor activities and experiments in real time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Its call-sign is Col-CC.

Back in January 2024, Sławosz followed Marcus’s mission from the centre and listened to the live updates from the International Space Station. He has now returned for mission briefings and to meet some of the people he will be working with during his upcoming spaceflight, scheduled for no earlier than May 2025.

Marcus used the opportunity to hang the plaque of his Muninn mission patch on the wall of the main control room. This tradition dates to the launch of the Columbus module in 2008.

The first patch ever to be hung on these walls belongs to Expedition 16 – the mission delivered the Columbus module to the International Space Station, with ESA astronauts Léopold Eyharts from France and Hans Schlegel from Germany flying on Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-122.

Since then, all European astronauts visit Col-CC to meet the voices with whom they shared the space journey, reflect on the team’s achievements, and share the stories and lessons learned.

As Marcus explains on Instagram, during the visit he reviewed his mission results with the team and transferred operational knowledge to Sławosz. He also took a moment to express his gratitude towards the ground and flight control teams by awarding certificates of appreciation to the team.

Follow Sławosz's journey to space on the Ignis mission website and discover more about the next patch to be hung on the walls of the Columbus Control Centre.