A Brit will be on the moon within 10 years, according to Tim Peake – and the astronaut has said he’d “love” it to be him.
Peake, who remains the last British astronaut to make it into space, has already said he thinks humans will be back on the moon by 2026, with a Brit to follow over the next decade.
And, as well as fancying a mission to the moon before he retires, the 52-year-old has said he’d also throw his hat in the ring for any future trips to Mars.
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(Image: Gloucestershire Echo)
The dad-of-two admitted that he may have to leave it to the next generation, however.
Speaking on White Wine Question Time, Peake explained: “Gosh, every astronaut is going to have their hand up for that mission. It’s going to be incredible. I would love a moon mission – I really would.
“Will I get a moon mission? I don’t know, I doubt it. I’ve kind of stepped down from the European Space Agency and we now have a new class of ESA astronauts.
“I’d like to think that a Brit will be on the moon within the next 10 years but it may be that one of the new class should be the ones who go and do those missions. It’s really exciting and I think it’s fantastic that we’re going to be part of it.”
(Image: NASA/AFP via Getty Images)
The British astronaut revealed in October that he was going to come out of retirement in order to lead the UK’s first astronaut mission.
Peake will lead the crew of four on a £200million project to the International Space Station with the mission being funded by Axiom. But the Chichester man doesn’t want to stop there.
He’s also expressed an interest in going to Mars in what he described as a ‘high risk’ mission. He said: “Whilst you might think Mars is incredibly audacious, incredibly high risk, I think it’s absolutely achievable: we just need to make sure that we’ve got options at various stages.
“I think fundamentally what makes Mars so audacious is the fact that once you go, you’re so committed (for a three year mission).”
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