Andreas Mogensen has taken his place in history, becoming the first Dane in space when he blasted off for the ISS on Wednesday.

He is due to dock on the station Friday accompanied by mission commander Russian Sergei Volkov and Kazakh astronaut Aidyn Aimbetov.

It is the fulfillment of a childhood dream and the result of a lot of hard work.The 38-year-old has spent the last six years diving into oceans, braving arctic conditions and exploring subterranean caves in preparation for his trip to the stars.

All part of the training he underwent as an alumni of ESA’s ‘Class of 2009’ Astronaut Academy: http://www.euronews.com/programs/space/astronaut_academy)

With a background in aerospace engineering, Mogensen previously worked on space science projects.

“Obviously the highlight of any astronaut’s career is the space flight, that’s what we’re here for. But there are so many other fantastic opportunities along the way that I’ve been lucky enough to participate in. Opportunities that are really, really unique and that I would have loved to do even if I wasn’t an astronaut.”

After basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, Mogensen spent months using mock-ups and simulators to learn everything needed to live – and work – in orbit.

During the ten-day trip, Mogensen will carry out a series of experiments, including research into muscle atrophy and changes to bone density caused by short stays in space.

“Even though I’m only going to be there for ten days, it’s still valuable to study my body, to see how quickly some of these negative effects start and what effect they have in the period of time of just ten days. And then hopefully we can use that and compare it with some of the astronauts who are up there for six months or even a year.”

Just eight days after docking, Mogensen and crewmate Aidyn Aimbetov will return to earth. Hopefully between a myriad of experiments on his short trip he will get a chance to admire the spectacular view.