HE is the British astronaut whose time as a crew member on the International Space Station caught the imagination of youngsters all over the country.

Now Tim Peake is to share the story of his experiences with more than 2000 pupils from 19 schools across Scotland.

He will host an exclusive live webinar with them tomorrow, thanks to Scotland’s innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence (AI), The Data Lab. Peake will share his narrative of space exploration, including the research he undertook into new technologies and experiments conducted in space, which could not be done on Earth.

The astronaut will also place an emphasis on the STEM-related subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and explain their importance as we look to the future and consider the unlimited career opportunities they could open up for students.

His live webinar will replace two STEM events which were previously scheduled to take place in Aberdeen and Edinburgh in March, in which he should have featured.

However, the events had to be cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis and the social distancing measures implemented by the Government.

Earlier in the year, hundreds of schoolchildren across the country entered a competition to win the chance to take part in a live Q&A session with the astronaut.

It involved students working in a team to “invent” a potential solution to a climate change or environmental issue currently facing the world – submitting a video entry which outlined their invention. The winning teams will now have the chance to ask Peake a number of questions during the webinar.

These will cover a range of topics such as how to become an astronaut, what it’s like to live and work in space and what STEM subjects would help with pursuing a career that really is out of this world.

Gillian Docherty, The Data Lab’s chief executive officer, said: “When children today select STEM-related subjects they are preparing themselves to work in some of the most valuable jobs around, and this is certainly true as we look to the future. The world we live in will have dramatically changed by the time these children reach adulthood, from the way they communicate and commute to the way they are treated medically and the varying careers that will be available to them.”

Space has always been at the forefront of technology and engineering, and this is never more relevant than it is today.

Peake – a former test pilot and British Army Air Corps officer – is a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, who is famous for spending six months on the international space station, completing approximately 3000 orbits of the Earth, and covering a distance of 125,000 kilometres (77,600 miles). Through his work with the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO), the astronaut has been helping to attract more young people into STEM subjects and the space industry.

Docherty added: “Having undertaken a career which, the vast majority of us could only dream of, Tim Peake has a very inspirational story to share and we are much very looking forward to welcoming him to deliver this exclusive webinar to school children across Scotland.

“It will encourage them to think about a future which embraces STEM and the endless, exciting career opportunities that a life involving science, technology, engineering and mathematics could lend itself to.”