Astronaut Tim Peake has sent a birthday message to his wife from space.

He described his wife Rebecca as the “most amazing person I know”, and said she is “an incredible mum to our two boys, I love her to bits”.

He sent the message on Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, and ended by saying: “She listens to your show so she’ll be thrilled to hear this.”

Tim Peake talked to BBC Radio 2
Tim Peake talked to BBC Radio 2 (European Space Agency/YouTube)

Major Peake also answered questions from Radio 2 listeners from aboard the International Space Station.

He said: “Sometimes it feels pretty normal until you look out the window and you’re reminded of what a unique situation it is and how bizarre it is to be up here watching the Earth go by, and it goes by so quickly. We’re doing 17,500mph.”

British astronaut Major Tim Peake
Major Peake before he blasted off into space (Lewis Whyld/PA)

One listener, Adam from Swindon, wanted to know what space smells like, and said he would “like it to smell a bit like Swindon”.

Major Peake laughed before explaining they only get to “smell space” when people come in from a space walk.

He added: “We open up the airlock, we kind of all jump in and get the first smell of space and really, it almost smells like a metallic, burnt smell. I actually think it’s off-gassing or ionisation from the excessive heat that comes from the sun when you’re out on a space walk.”

Asked by another listener if he is now the “king of the power nap”, he said he wishes he could manage a power nap but is being kept busy.

“But I do sleep pretty well, I’m tired by the end of the day,” he said.

Major Peake also revealed that Sunday is his day off, normally spent by “chilling” and watching movies, having meals with the rest of the crew and making phone calls to friends and family back on Earth.

Asked what he will miss most when he comes home, he said it will definitely be weightlessness.

“Because it is just so much fun being able to throw yourself around in all orientations, there’s no up or down and you can move around pretty quickly and pretty efficiently,” he said.

The quirkiest question came from a listener named Adam who asked: “With gravity not around, is there potential for the ageing process to be put on hold and if so, how are your wrinkles doing?”

Major Peake responded: “You know wrinkles, varicose veins, space is great for that kind of thing, it gets rid of them all, but actually in terms of the ageing process, we accelerate unfortunately, so we’re probably ageing by quite a few years by being up here just for six months.”

The 43-year-old, from Chichester in West Sussex, is the first British astronaut to carry out a space walk and is a few weeks into his six-month mission aboard the ISS, during which he will be carrying out experiments and research.