Tim Peake to control machine from International Space Station

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36167053

Version 0 of 1.

British astronaut Tim Peake is set to take part in an experiment to control a machine on Earth from his base on the International Space Station.

Orbiting 250 miles above our planet, he will try to remotely guide a European Space Agency rover, named Bridget.

Bridget, meanwhile, will find itself in a simulated Martian landscape set up in a hangar in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The aim of the experiment is to test technology for astronauts to navigate rovers from spacecraft orbiting Mars.

Major Peake, 44, is currently taking part in a six-month mission on board the ISS.

'Test-drive'

He tweeted: "Looking forward to giving rover Bridget in Stevenage, UK, a test-drive from space."

The experiment is part of the ExoMars project, which aims to discover more about Earth's neighbouring "Red Planet".

On Sunday, Major Peake ran the distance of the London Marathon on a treadmill in the ISS, which circles the Earth at a relative velocity of 28,800km/h (17,900mph).

He ran the marathon distance in about three hours, 35 minutes, the European Space Agency said.