Chichester astronaut Peake to inspire next generation at university talk

He will be hearing from schoolchildren who have completed projects inspired by his six month stay on the International Space Station as part of the Principa mission.

Major Peake, from Westbourne, has been invited to the conference on November 2 and will be joined by experts from the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency (ESA).

The work of more than a million students from across the UK will be celebrated at the conference.

As part of the £3 million project they have conducted scientific experiments, taken on coding challenges, family shows at science centres and creative writing.

Speaking ahead of the conference Major Peake said: “Encouraging students to engage with my Principia mission was always something that I had hoped to do and I am thrilled at the range of different things young people have done to follow my mission.

“I’m really looking forward to hearing about their work direct from the young people themselves.

During his time on the station the University of Portsmouth alumnus carried out hundreds of experiments, including tests on his own body to help investigate cures for various diseases and illnesses including asthma.

University of Portsmouth Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith said: “It’s a great honour for us to welcome one of our most celebrated alumni back to the university for this prestigious event.

“Tim’s six-month mission on board the International Space Station was an inspiration to schoolchildren everywhere, so we are delighted that he will visiting Portsmouth in November and seeing for himself just how his achievements have fired the imaginations of the next generation of scientists and space explorers.”

A second conference will take place at the University of York on Saturday November 5, although there is still time for students to apply to be one of the 500 allowed to attend the event.

UK Space Agency head of education and skills Jeremy Curtis said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for students and pupils to find out what it’s like to be part of a professional conference.

“We want to celebrate the achievements of young people across the whole country, to meet with them and to hear more about what they have done.

“It’s great that Tim is able to join us for both of these events.”

For more details on how to apply visit principa.org.uk.