Photo: ESA
In fact, Tim Peake has been training for over 6 years for his trip to the thermosphere. During this time Tim has spent 12 days on the seabed, learned Russian, and ridden the famed ‘Vomit Comet’. He’s been to Canada, USA, Russia, Japan and Europe in his quest to learn everything he’ll need for his 6-month stay on the ISS.
And he’s not done this alone. As part of his training he has interacted with dozens of people who are experts in many different areas: medics who understand the special strain that space places on the human body, engineers who designed robotic arms he will manipulate, instructors who specialise in the many unique procedures that microgravity requires, and the scientists whose experiments Tim will be carrying out in the Columbus lab module.
In the Training Zone you will meet some of these people, and others whose work in science and engineering contributes to human space missions on the ISS.