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Space Cadets: Contestants get a 'glimpse of space'

13/12/2005

CHANNEL 4'S "cosmonauts" are convinced they are in space and gazing down at Planet Earth.

The reality show contestants spent their first night on board Earth Orbiter One after "launching" yesterday.

Producers delayed showing the unwitting Space Cadets contestants a glimpse of the world because a stray moth blocked part of the view.

But with the creature out of the way, actor Charlie Skelton, Paul French, Billy Jackson and Keri Hassett were finally shown the view outside their spaceship.

Paul, a plasterer from Bristol, exclaimed of the Imax screen: "It's the world!", while Billy, a recruitment consultant, was also convinced, saying: "You can see land on there."

"All the problems in the world just seem... minor," the 26-year-old added.

Footballer

Billy, 25, a semi-pro footballer, later added: "You know, it doesn't seem real... I know it's real, but it doesn't seem it."

"Some people say the Moon landings were fake," Paul later declared. "It would be the biggest lie in the world. I believe they landed."

The crew slept in shifts, with Billy and Keri, 25, cuddling together on their bunk.

In the morning, they woke to strains of Duran Duran's Planet Earth, danced around the deck, and listened to a weather report.

Intergalatic

Now the cosmonauts have been instructed to complete a set of experiments in the name of intergalactic science.

Their first task was a lunar libido test - to discover whether confinement on board may have a detrimental effect on the potential for reproduction.

The cadets were told the tests are common within the astronautical community.

The cosmonauts were asked to rate a series of images on cards, according to sexual arousal experienced from the image.

Their second task featured making balloon animals, which they were told measures the cosmonauts' dexterity.

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