From the effects of solar radiation on people living on the International Space Station, to opinions on space travel; there are few topics which inspire quite so many questions as Space.

Another question, asked probably in every live chat in every Space Zone we’ve run: “Have you ever been to space?” The answer has always been “no”… Until now.

This year, Tim Peake will become the first British ESA astronaut to live and work on the International Space Station (ISS) and thanks to funding from the UK Space Agency and the support of the European Space Agency, our latest project will bring the buzz and excitement of Tim’s mission into classrooms all over the UK.

Our latest project gives students the opportunity to put their questions to the people behind Tim’s mission — members of mission control, researchers with experiments running on the ISS, trainers, and scientists and engineers involved in the design of the ISS and its equipment — before four winning schools get the chance to take part in a live chat with Tim Peake himself.

Teachers, register now to take part in the first round of I’m an Astronaut, Get me out of here this October!

The registration deadline for Round 1 is 12PM on Monday 20th July 2015.

How does it work

There will be four rounds of the competition, each running for two weeks over the course of the Principia Mission; the first round will be 5th–16th October 2015.

In each round students will log in to the site over the course of two weeks to talk and interact with members of the Astro Support Team. Students will be able to ASK questions, take part in live CHATs, and VOTE for their favourite Astro Support Team members.

Tim Peake during training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the United States. |
Image: NASA/Bill Stafford

Live Chat with Tim Peake

In each of the four rounds, the Astro Support Team will nominate one winning school to take part in the final live chat with Tim Peake.

The winning schools will each nominate four student ambassadors to take part in the final live chat with Tim Peake when he returns from the ISS.

How do I sign up?

Teachers and Schools

Teachers can register at imanastronaut.uk/teachers the deadline to sign up for the first round is 12PM on Monday, 20th July.

Join the Astro Support Team

If you’d like to help out email Angela at angela@gallomanor.com, with where you work,  and a couple of sentences summarising your work and how it relates to Tim’s mission — when you describe your work, try to use language which a 13 year old would understand.

For more information, see imanastronaut.uk/astro-support-team.