Space is pretty unforgiving, and those who visit tend to be only the strongest, most resilient and brainiest of us (or those with a very healthy bank balance). One of those strong, resilient and brainy people was Tim Peake, who in 2015 became Britain's first astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

Advertisement

On board, he conducted a number of experiments, operated robots and spent 4 hours 43 minutes on a space walk, as well as a few other, let's say, less mission-critical tasks.

So what do you reckon, would you be able to withstand the rigours of spending months aboard the ISS and land back on Earth with your head held high, safe in the knowledge of a job well done? The Astronaut Selection Test Book is filled with 100 genuine astronaut tests and training exercises to see if you've got the brainpower to earn a ticket into orbit. You'll need to get them all right if you stand a chance, but we have five questions to get you started.

Advertisement

Try the quiz below and let us know how you get on by tweeting us @sciencefocus. We got a respectable score, but respectable doesn't cut it in the vastness of space - sadly we'll be calling terra firma home for a while.

The Astronaut Selection Test Book by Tim Peake and the European Space Agency is out now (£20, Century)
The Astronaut Selection Test Book by Tim Peake and the European Space Agency is out now (£20, Century)

Authors

Alexander McNamaraOnline Editor, BBC Science Focus

Alexander is the former Online Editor at BBC Science Focus.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement