‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’ – Astronaut on space station apologizes for

Britain’s first astronaut on a space mission, Major Tim Peake, accidentally called the wrong number when trying to call home from space.

He wanted to assure the recipient it wasn’t a prank call.

Ever got a phone call and someone says, ‘Hello, Is This Planet Earth?’.

One earthbound woman presumably experienced quite a festive shock when astronaut Tim Peake inadvertently dialed her from outer space. Earlier this week, the space traveller was forced to leave a voicemail on his parents’ answering machine when they missed his call.

Mr Peake, 43, who is a former major in the Army, is the first Briton to join the crew of the ISS and is employed by the European Space Agency.

Peake plans to conduct experiments on how the human body reacts in space and – in a British twist on space exploration – try out a new tea-making process geared toward zero gravity. Tim Peake will stay until June 5th, 2016 on board ISS, and his mission of 173 days will be the sixth longest space mission undertaken by an ESA astronaut.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: ‘The space station’s maximum elevation will be about 23 degrees viewed from London, which is just above the rooftops. Russian Red Devil Alexey Yakovlev gave the club’s flag to astronaut Steve Swanson on his space exploration trip.