The aliens are coming! But do not fret as our able astronauts are ready to kick their butt - at least in a virtual game.
A 23-second video clip uploaded by the European Space Station (ESA) on March 20 shows first British ESA astronaut Tim Peake dodging aliens while firing imaginary laser cannons in Space Invaders with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly before the latter returned to Earth on March 2 after almost a year-long mission.
However, the popular Atari arcade game is not part of their training in the International Space Station (ISS).
Peake accidentally discovered it while working on an advanced virtual system designed specifically for them called Project Sidekick.
It works by creating "a virtual-reality world on the International Space Station so we can 'drop' markers, procedures or documents in one location and they will still be there if we leave the module to return later," Peake said. This means that collaboration between ground control and ISS will be more seamless.
After receiving the nod of approval from mission control, Peake went on to access the game, and they laughed their way to killing as many Martians as they can.
"The game was just a bit of fun where Scott and I were being attacked by aliens from all over the place and we fired our canons by squeezing our fingers together," Peake shared.
The ESA, perhaps as a way of joining in the merriment, added some special effects and music into the video, which was a hit among social media users. As of March 21, it already has more than 10,000 views on YouTube and 2,000 likes in Facebook.
This is not the first time the duo goofed around the ISS, though. Early this year, Captain Kelly's twin brother Mark Kelly, himself a retired astronaut, tweeted a link to a strange video showing Captain Kelly emerging from a padded storage bag in full gorilla costume and chasing Peake in zero gravity while the latter was floating on a loop. It is believed the costume was part of the last few items sent to the station on December 2015.
Don't miss the fun. See their video below:
