THREE-YEAR-old astronaut, Ivo Horner, looks in wonder as he gets to meet one of his space heroes.

Young Ivo was just one of a select few of schoolchildren who was fortunate enough to meet Major Tim Peake as he visited Harwell Campus today.

Ivo looked the part dressed as an astronaut and even got a signature from space's poster boy.

Ten-year-old Thomas from Chilton Primary School said that it was only on the way to the campus that they were told they were going to meet Major Peake.

He said: "I was so excited and could not believe it.

"I asked him if he always wanted to be an astronaut and he said before he had always wanted to be a pilot.

"I thought he would be a bit bigger."

Hilary Griffiths, represented Didcot Girls' School, and said she would love to have a career in either physics or engineering.

The 15-year-old said: "It was extraordinary, my heart was pounding all the time.

"He was so fantastic but so normal when you talk to him. 

"I knew that Heston Blumenthal had created some special food for him to eat in space, so I asked him what his favourite was.

"He said the salmon but also said the bacon sandwich was great for breakfast."

Major Peake visited the campus for the first time in four years to talk about the importance of life sciences and how experiments and technologies in space can be used in healthcare on earth.