Major Tim Peake reveals what ground control wants in an astronaut

The British space pioneer on what it takes to pass the toughest job interview

The astronaut selection process at the European Space Agency is unforgiving from the start. On day one, candidates assemble in Hamburg for six rounds of tests that run back to back, with 10-minute breaks in between. All are designed to expose weaknesses in people's "hard skills": their mental arithmetic, visual perception, working memory, pattern recognition, concentration, and more. Most are abilities that cannot be taught.

"On the first day of testing you are so exposed. There is no hiding place," says Tim Peake, an army major and former helicopter test-pilot who became Britain's first ESA astronaut in 2009. "They are analysing your brain and you've either got it or you haven't. I was more nervous about that stage than anything else."