10 Reasons Tim Peake Is A Hero

Tim Peake has made history by becoming the first ever British astronaut to visit the International Space Station! Tim kicked off a life of adventure in 1991, when he volunteered in Alaska with Raleigh International. If you’re not convinced, we've come up with 10 more reasons why Tim Peake is a hero!

1. He gets knocked down, but he gets up again

Although he was accepted into Sandhurst Military Academy, 17 year old Tim was told to go away and get some life experience. So he did. He travelled to Alaska to carry out conservation work, monitored salmon populations and changing coastlines. If only we all coped with knock-backs as well as that…

2. He loves the Earth (which is why he’s leaving it for 6 months)

Whilst in Alaska Tim lived in an area populated by grizzly bears and humpback whales. It's safe to say his experience made him fall in love with the Earth.

"Getting to visit somewhere so remote with so little human impact was very powerful: I quickly realised how special this environment was and how important it was to work hard to keep it in that condition." Whilst in space, Tim will be monitoring the effects of climate change, from glacial retreat to disintegrating lakes and erosion.

3. He trumps Bear Grylls in the adventure stakes

Via mpora.com

Tim Peake and Bear Grylls have a lot in common. Both have had military careers and both are keen world explorers. Bear has the fan base, but Tim takes the prize for the Biggest Adventurer - what's climbing Mount Everest compared to flying 220 miles above the Earth in a rocket?

4. He loves a proper cup of tea (and even worked out how to pour the perfect cuppa in space)

@astro_timpeake

We all know the Brits love a good cuppa, so naturally Tim had some concerns when faced with the prospect of drinking "space tea" for 7 months…

In space you normally have to drink tea from a pouch, but Tim's not having any of it. In fact, he has taken advice from a fellow Astronaut on the exact angles you'd need to hold a cup in space and ensure the liquid doesn't float away. We admire his dedication!

5. Stunt doubles stay at home – Tim is a real space hero

Buena Vista Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures

Whether saving the world from meteors or fighting off aliens, the astronauts of the movies have had some crazy missions. But there will be no CGI or green screens for this Astronaut. Tim and his crew will be researching the effects of climate change, such as glacial retreat and disintegrating lakes, to find out how we can protect our planet for future generations. Now that's a real space hero.

6. He is the King of sustainability, even if that means drinking his own wee…

Julian Leek / Via rocketstem.org

Sustainable living is vital on Earth, as well as in space - something that Tim knows all about: "We recycle most of the urine that's produced on board the space station and most of our sweat and perspiration all goes back into potable drinking water for the crew."

But it's not all bad news. This technology can be used for the greater good, and has been used to help to develop systems for clean drinking water back here on earth.

7. He reminds us that sometimes we all need to see our planet from a different perspective

8. He teaches us that water conservation is easy and possible

Water conservation is high on Tim's lists of priorities, and he likes to raise awareness of how we can all save our most precious resource. Here he is using a tippy-tap, a simple hand washing device used in rural communities in developing countries. You don't need to be an astronaut to live sustainably.

9. He's a global citizen. In fact, make that an intergalactic citizen

Many of us identify as being part of the worldwide community as global citizens. Now that he's left the Earth, Tim is closer to whatever alien lifeforms may or may not be out there. So we don't think he counts as a global citizen anymore, Tim's an intergalactic citizen!

10. He believes in young people and is hoping to inspire the next generation

@astro_timpeake

When Tim left school at 17 many people thought he'd made a bad decision. But he continued to follow his passion for adventure and has now got his name in the history books.

Tim wants the youth of today to know that they have the potential to do great things: "There's nothing to stop the school kids... today from being the first people to step foot on Mars in the future". That really would be an awesome legacy.