At about 6AM the space station alarm goes off. We use British time, so when everyone in the U.K. is getting up to start their day, I am floating around in my sleeping bag ready to begin mine.
Every day is different - but we’re often asked to collect some bodily fluids (usually urine) for some kind of experiment or other - so we’ll do that first thing, and then try to clean up a little.
I shave every day, but showering in micro-gravity is obviously quite an art. A good way of imagining it is that you have a blob of water and you step into it, then the water floats and covers your skin, you lather it up and then mop it up with a towel.
'I speak to my wife more from space than I do when I'm on earth'
The last time I was in space (I got back on November 11th) I was up for 166 days, so of course you start to miss things on earth. The things you really miss are your family and friends, but also stupid things like good coffee (Luca is Italian, after all).
Despite this, I actually speak to my wife more often when I am in space than when I’m on earth. When I’m training I’ll be travelling all the time - going to Russia, Japan, Germany - but in space we can have a routine. I’d call my wife when she was picking up our daughters from school, and we’d all have a chat in the car.
'Think of the most fun dream you’ve ever had, you’re flying through the air, weightless - that is what space is like. It’s like you’re Peter Pan using pixie dust'
Think of the most fun dream you’ve ever had, you’re flying through the air, weightless - that is what space is like. It’s like you’re Peter Pan using pixie dust. The moment you start floating it is just hysterically hilarious - and that doesn’t get old.
Then of course you have windows where you can see your planet 400km away, in all its mind-blowing beauty.
I could just spend hours looking at every single cloud, noticing how it has changed and moved.
'The first time I saw earth from space...It was so beautiful it took my breath away. There are no words to describe how that felt'
The things I have seen from space are incredible. One of the best memories is when I first saw the earth from orbit. I was in my space shaft and I looked out and saw it. It was so beautiful it took my breath away. There are no words to describe how that felt.
Another treasured memory for me was seeing my homeland, Sicily, bathed in sunlight and the glorious reflection of the light off the water. It was amazing. My wife and daughters were there at the time so I was knew that I was looking at them. I was looking at everything that was sacred and important to me.
Live from Space is out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD through Universal Pictures.