Astronaut Maurer practices tooth extraction for space emergencies

Astronauts must be prepared for more than just the physical demands of space travel; they need to handle unexpected medical situations, including procedures like tooth extraction and wound suturing. German astronaut Matthias Maurer shared details of this specialized training, which he underwent as part of ESA's medical field program.

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As an ESA astronaut, you do medical field training. We go to a clinic and go through various stations.

"As an ESA astronaut, you do medical field training. We go to a clinic and go through various stations," Maurer told the German Press Agency. This training involves practicing skills such as suturing wounds or inserting a catheter for urinary retention. Maurer revealed that his own training included a practical session where he extracted a "rotten tooth" from an elderly patient, with their prior consent and under strict medical supervision.

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Part of the training was also for me to be allowed to pull a real tooth. So it was a rotten tooth, not a healthy tooth.

"I probably suffered even more because it is an unpleasant thing to pull someone's tooth," Maurer admitted, reflecting on the experience. He has practiced this procedure twice on elderly patients, one of whom had only a single tooth remaining. Despite the unusual nature of the training, Maurer expressed optimism about his chances of participating in one of NASA's upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon.

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I probably suffered even more because it is an unpleasant thing to pull someone's tooth.

Maurer believes he has a "very big chance" to fly to the Moon, potentially even land and explore it, fulfilling a lifelong dream. He even joked that a German on the Moon is more likely than the German national soccer team winning a fifth World Cup. Following the Artemis 2 circumlunar flight, Artemis 3 will test docking maneuvers with lunar landers in Earth orbit, with Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano participating. For 2028, Artemis 4 and 5 are planned, aiming to land humans on the Moon for the first time in half a century. Maurer or Alexander Gerst could be selected as European representatives for these missions, though the final decision rests with ESA leadership.

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I think I have a very big chance to fly to the Moon, maybe even land on the Moon, explore the Moon. That is a very big dream of mine.