In the second coming of sorts, British astronaut Tim Peake will be returning to the International Space Station for a second mission to be sponsored by the European Space Agency.
Though the next mission has not been named, it may happen before 2019. The next European astronaut tipped to go to space in May 2017 is Paolo Nespoli of Italy.
Peake Excited
Peake announced this at the Science Museum in London during an event.
"It's what every astronaut wants to do," he said.
Peake's first space mission in December 2015 earned him the distinction as the first British astronaut on board the ISS. During the six-month stint at ISS, Peake executed many research projects.
He is credited with zero gravity flips and interactions with supporters back on Earth.
While spending 186 days in ISS, the 44-year-old Peake undertook more than 250 experiments. By profession, he is a helicopter test pilot and a family man with two children. Peake's time in ISS was also noted for a spacewalk with the NASA astronaut Tim Kopra.
Boost For UK Program
Peake's space trip was also confirmed by Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark, who hailed Peake's work on scientific research. Peake is known in the UK for driving interest in science, technology, engineering and maths in schools and nurturing talent for the future technical expertise of the country.
"Tim Peake's Principia mission inspired a generation, and showed just how far science can take you," Clark said.
Soyuz TMA-19M Spacecraft
The announcement of Peake's second trip to ISS came during the unveiling of the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft, which brought Peake from the ISS to Earth on June 16, 2016.
During the event, Peake said he was seeing the spacecraft first time since he landed in Kazakhstan and expressed his liking to be back in the ISS and said he would go back to space "in a heartbeat."
The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft has now been acquired by the Science Museum for making it a part of a new virtual reality experience to be voiced by Peake.
Ian Blatchford, director of Science Museum Group, said unveiling Soyuz TMA-19M has been an honor, as it extends the space frenzy created by Tim's ISS journey in December 2015.
"What better way to launch the UK-Russia Year of Science and Education than displaying the Russian-built craft that took the UK's first ESA astronaut into and back from space?" he added.
The British business secretary also announced that a national funding of US$88 million for promoting UK space businesses in areas like monitoring of the environment and other global issues will be coming soon.
