This Is A Riddle Used To Select Astronauts

Not only is he a very well-known astronaut, but Major Tim Peake has also recently published a book titled Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space that explores all those frequently asked questions about what happens up there in the void of space.

British-born Tim Peake served as an astronaut on the ISS for 185 days, 22 hours, and 11 minutes. During his time in space, Tim Peake had a great deal of time to mull over some of the biggest questions many of his fans would continuously ask him. One of these questions was about what sort of qualifications or testing one has to go through during the intense basic training course. Tim decided to share one of the test questions he received about a logic riddle.

Tim Peake posted this riddle on his Facebook account. Many astronauts are tested on not only their knowledge of the science of space, but are also quizzed on sociological, logical, and skill-testing questions that test every part of the human brain. This is to weed out any possible scenarios where the candidate might not be suited for space travel.

Something that rose out of this is a riddle that many astronauts are required to answer before being allowed into the program. The riddle, featured in Tim Peake’s book, goes as follows: “Imagine that you are facing a cube. This cube can roll to the left, right, forward (towards you) or backward (away from you). There is a dot on the bottom of the cube. Now in your mind, roll the cube: forward, left, left, forward, right, backward, right. Where’s the dot?” (Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space)

Many of the answers varied. Many gave the obvious “It’s on the bottom of the cube” answer, but many were worried this was somehow a trick of some kind.

Tim Peake took to Facebook to answer to his many fans after posting the question, saying “I loved reading all your answers…and congratulations to all those who said it ended up on the bottom of the cube!”

Tim Peake beat out well over 9,000 applicants to gain his place as the ESA’s new astronaut in Britain. To train for this position, Peake was sent on a mission to explore remote caves in Sardinia, which would simulate the isolation and confinement of the ISS, as well as an aquanaut mission aboard an underwater laboratory that would simulate the gruelling spacewalks needed to maintain the exterior of the ISS.

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