British astronaut Tim Peake is going back to space

British astronaut Tim Peake is set to return to the International Space Station for a second mission, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark announced on 26 January. Further details on when the European Space Agency mission will take place are expected soon.

The announcement was made at the Science Museum in London during the unveiling of the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft, which carried Peake to and from the ISS for Expedition 46/47. He spent six months in space, leaving Earth on 15 December 2015, and returning on 16 June the following year.

He had previously said he hoped to return to the ISS, saying he would go back to space "in a heartbeat".

At the Science Museum event, Peake said it was the first time he had seen the spacecraft since he landed in Kazakhstan last year.

The Soyuz TMA-19M is the first spacecraft within the UK's national space technology collection to be flown by humans. It was acquired by the Science Museum at the end of last year and will form part of a new virtual reality (VR) experience voiced by Peake.

Science Museum Group Director Ian Blatchford said: "It's an honour to unveil Soyuz TMA-19M today and extend the space fever sparked all around the nation by Tim's launch on 15 December 2015. What better way to launch the UK-Russia Year of Science and Education than displaying the Russian-built craft that took the UK's first ESA astronaut into and back from space?"

The new exhibition uses VR technology to let visitors experience what it is like to sit inside the spacecraft's descent module as it makes its high-speed descent back to Earth.