The British astronaut Tim Peake is to visit Edinburgh next month as part of its annual science festival.

Peake, who this year returned from a six month long mission as a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut on board the International Space Station (ISS), will present an event entitled Experiments in Space with his NASA crewmate Tim Kopra.

Peake will be at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 17 October, presented by the Edinburgh International Science Festival in partnership with European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency.

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Tickets go on sale on Monday, October 3.

Peake said: "I’ve been extremely touched by the support of the British public before, during and after my mission to the ISS and I hope that my post-flight tour will allow me to thank as many of those people as possible.

"I received the footage of the launch parties that were held in the four capitals a couple of days after I arrived in space so now I will be able to attend in person to join in with the celebrations.”

Simon Gage, the director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, said: "I am thrilled to be welcoming Tim Peake and his NASA colleague Tim Kopra to Edinburgh.

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"Our aim across all the work we do is to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds with the wonders of science and technology. "We are delighted to support the UK Space Agency’s education and outreach programme that has made the Principia mission so captivating and so accessible to the British public."

Experiments in Space is part of a UK-wide tour which sees Peake visiting all four UK national capitals along with Leicester, Manchester and Glasgow's Science Centre, with details to be announced.