Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation

Good luck, bonne chance, boa sorte Tim Peake!

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From the University Press Office (original story):

To mark astronaut and alumnus Tim Peake’s launch into space on 15 December, University of Portsmouth cosmologists have recorded good luck messages for Tim in 15 different languages.

Major Tim Peake, Britain’s first official astronaut, has spent three years preparing for his Principia mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits some 250 miles from earth.

On 15 December he will leave Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket and will not return to earth for six months.

Tim studied flight dynamics and evaluation at the University and graduated in 2006. Last year he called in from Russia via video to the largest conference in the UK for professional astronomers, which was hosted at the University.

Director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, Professor Bob Nichol, said: “We’re proud that Tim is one of our graduates and very excited about his mission to space. To mark his launch date on the 15th and also 15 years of human habitation on the ISS we thought it would be fitting to record messages to Tim in 15 languages, including Hindi, Slovenian, Greek, French and Japanese.

“We have a real mix of nationalities in our department so it was easy to rustle up 15 languages but it was a pity we couldn’t find anyone to wish Tim well in Russian – the language he’s been learning for the last few years!

“Our cosmologists and astronomers will be keeping a close eye on Tim’s mission, which will see him become Britain’s first European Space Agency astronaut.”

Tim will spend 170 days in orbit, carrying out scientific experiments and maintenance work on the ISS – a microgravity laboratory in which he and other crew members will live and work while travelling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth every 90 minutes.

To find out what languages are featured in the video click here for the extended version.

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