Scott Kelly's Return to Earth | #TimPeakeUpdate

Tim Peake's had some major changes on board the ISS recently - early this morning Commander of the Space Station, Scott Kelly returned to earth after a staggering 340 days in space. He left Earth early last year and hasn't been back since. The job now lies in figuring out Earth - and the minor change of gravity!


Only one person has beaten this record of 340 days which Scott shares with two other Russian crewmates - Valeri Polakov who spent 14 months aboard the Mir Space Station. What's even more special about Scott's time in space is that now, NASA can look at what 11 months in space does to his body, with Scott's identical twin and all because Scott's twin is genetically identical they can directly compare what 11 months in space does to your body.


Across his year in space, he's tweeted 1,000 images, worked on hundreds of experiments, carried out many space walks and above all he's looked at our planet in a totally new way. Follow @StationCDRKelly as he rediscovers planet Earth.

What will Tim Peake's expedition do for UK science? | #SciSparksAdvent

Personally for Tim, he'll be able to carry out experiments which could lead to revolutionary developments. He's also acting as a guinea pig - allowing people back on Earth to monitor how his body is adapting or changing as a result of the zero gravity. During his 6 month voyage, his bones will get weaker  - he has to do 2 hours of exercise a day to combat this. When he returns it will take around a year for his body to completely get over the effects of being in zero gravity. He'll also be able to pass on his experiences - even just the view. Understandably many astronauts who have previously flown in space say that's the one thing which truly changes you - seeing it with your own eyes, and when you return you can truly appreciate it. This, apparently is known as the overview effect. It's also pioneering in the sense that no British person has done what Tim's doing. He's the first British astronaut to be spending a term on board the ISS. Other British astronauts have flown in space - Helen Sharman became the first British Citizen to travel in space when she visited the Soviet space station Mir in 1991. Others have flown either as private individuals or by taking up US citizenship.

School children across the UK can finally relate to someone on board the ISS - someone with a British accent - coming from a town near them. Follow him on Twitter @astro_timpeake where he'll hopefully be posting updates from the ISS. Whilst he's on board he's got lots of exciting plans - including opportunities for school children to link up with him on the ISS. This is the first time he's been on the ISS and no doubt he'll make the most of it.

Good luck Tim!

Tim Peake's Launch | #SciSparksAdvent

Day 15




Today, at exactly 11:03, the first Briton to work on board the ISS launched. He waved his friends and family off from the launch pad in Kazakhstan - as Dallas Campbell put it, what a way to get to the office! Once Tim and the other two crew members have completed the 6 hour journey to the ISS, Tim's main role will be to complete experiments but he also wants to make the most of his time up there - he really wants to inspire kids and adults alike and show them the wonder of space and science.


At exactly 17:33 GMT, the Soyuz docked with the ISS after they'd completed a manual docking -  a couple of hours later, pressurisation checks had been completed - the hatch was opened and him and the crew floated into their home for the next 6 months.
The flight was relatively problem free - launch was completed in probably the best conditions possible. When it came to docking however, there was a slight issue which meant they had to complete a manual docking. We're still not sure what the issue was - this caused a delay in opening the hatch as the crew sent back data before putting the Soyuz in 'sleep mode'. This is such an important step because the Soyuz is their 'lifeboat' if there's an issue on board the ISS the crew can transfer to the Soyuz and quickly return to Earth.





Tim has embarked on an amazing adventure for himself and Britain - good luck Tim!


18/12 update: Tim has recently revealed on Twitter that his first space meal was a hot bacon sandwich and he'd also just found his tea - some things never change, wherever you are! :)