Astronaut Tim Peake: ‘What happens when we die? We find out whether we are living in a simulation’

B orn in West Sussex, Tim Peake , 50, spent 18 years in military service. He was working as a test pilot when he applied to be an astronaut with the European Space Agency. In 2015, he became the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station, where he spent six months.

His latest children’s book, The Cosmic Diary of Our Incredible Universe, has just been published and he is currently on his first UK speaking tour. He lives with his wife and two sons in West Sussex. When were you happiest? My happiest moments are when I am wild camping with my family in Scotland and cooking on a fire by a river.

What is your greatest fear? Running out of options. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Shyness. It really held me back when I was younger, and I wish it hadn’t.

I do a better job of not being so shy these days. What is your most treasured possession? It would have been the union flag that I wore on my uniform when I did the spacewalk in 2016, but I gave that to the Queen. Describe yourself in three words ? I’m optimistic, determined and clumsy.

What would your superpower be? To be able to fly. I’ve spent my entire life wanting to be up in the sky. What do you most dislike about your appearance? I’m small and ginger – what’s not to like? Who is your celebrity crush? Kylie.

Who would play you in the film of your life? Damian Lewis. Which book are you ashamed not to have read? Homer’s Odyssey . What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you? I was told it was unlikely I was going to be accepted into the Army Air Corps; that was crushing because I wanted to be a pilot more than anything.

I was fortunate: I was able to have another interview and I was accepted. What is your guiltiest pleasure? Salt and vinegar crisps. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? When I first met my wife, I used to say “to be honest” all the time and she said: “If we’re going to have a future together, you’re going to have to stop saying ‘to be honest’.

” When’s the last time you changed your mind about something significant? I tend to make a decision and stick to it. Sign up to Inside Saturday Free weekly newsletter The only way to get a look behind the scenes of our brand new magazine, Saturday. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.

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What would you like to leave your children? Happy memories. What single thing would improve the quality of your life? More time. Astronaut Tim Peake: ‘Coming home was a harsh transition.

Gravity sucks!’ Read more What do you consider your greatest achievement? Doing the spacewalk to fix a solar panel at the furthest edge of the ISS. You have no idea if you are going to get a chance to do a spacewalk when you go into space. I was fortunate.

There’s a real juxtaposition between floating, completely serene and calm, looking down at Earth and the universe, and being aware that you are in this hostile environment. What keeps you awake at night? Nothing. What is the most important lesson life has taught you? Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live for ever.

That is a Mahatma Gandhi quote, and I think it summarises how we should live. What happens when we die? We find out whether we are living in a simulation or not. .