“IT IS STARTLINGLY CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO PLANET B”

The ESA’s first British astronaut reveals how space travel will develop, what life is like on board the ISS and why we need to protect our planet

-  Ailsa Harvey

BIO

Major Tim Peake Peake became the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first British astronaut after launching into space onboard a Soyuz rocket in December 2015. He returned to Earth on 18 June 2016, spending a total of 186 days in orbit as part of Principia on Expeditions 46 and 47. He is a British Army Air Corps officer, previously serving in the military as a platoon commander, lieutenant, and captain, a qualified helicopter pilot, and instructor.

What is life like living aboard the International Space Station (ISS)?

As astronauts, we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. And that includes life on board the International Space Station, using it as a platform for innovation and technology. On board the space station, we have virtual-reality systems where we can actually prepare to do a spacewalk, for example, doing it multiple times before actually going outside the space station. We’ve also got augmented reality, where Mission Control has come onboard the space station, and it helps us in our day-to-day tasks as well.

All of this is absolutely essential in giving us astronauts greater confidence in what we’re doing, especially when we have complex tasks coming up, and helping to ensure mission success. When it comes to spacewalking, probably an astronaut’s greatest fear is going tumbling off into the black abyss of space. Anybody who’s watched the opening scenes of the movie Gravity will have an idea of what that might be like – something that we are obviously quite concerned about in space.