Tim Peake can expect to be propelled straight into challenging work on the International Space Station (ISS) but will also have the greatest time of his life, according to a fellow European astronaut.
Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, spent 199 days on board the ISS as a flight engineer between November 2014 and June 2015.
She started at the ESA at the same time as Major Peake in 2009 and has a particular insight into the life the Briton will lead in orbit.
Ms Cristoforetti told Press Association Scotland: "He will be very busy but I'm also confident it will be the most amazing and greatest time in his life.
"There's a lot of work up there. You show up and you jump right into the scientific programme, the technical work, the maintenance. Whatever you need to keep the space station running and to keep the science moving forward up there, he is ready to do.
"But he will also have a magnificent view of our planet from the window. He will be part of an incredible team of very dedicated people and he will do a lot of outreach work.
"I'm sure he will stay in touch with planet Earth, not only with his family but with the public. I think it will be great for getting people excited about space."
Ms Cristoforetti holds the record for the longest single space flight by a woman and for the longest uninterrupted space flight by a European astronaut.
She was in the supporting role for three space walks during her mission.
Work on board was "very demanding and challenging," she said.
The astronaut was in Scotland to take part in an Edinburgh International Science Festival event at the National Museum Scotland on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the Principia mission and inspire the next generation to take up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.
Speaking before she took part in a question-and-answer session with school pupils, she said: "Children are especially privileged, I think, because they have this spontaneous excitement.
"They feel this connection to space exploration instinctively. They feel that it's a great adventure, that it's exciting.
"Hopefully it will be a path through which they will also get excited in general about science, technology, engineering and maths."
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