From ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano’s hometown in Catania, Italy, Luca talks about the science he ran on the International Space Station.

The European laboratory Columbus was launched in 2008 and offers scientists a permanent place in space to conduct research that is out of this world.

Luca’s first spaceflight was in 2013 with Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg. He conducted over 20 experiments during the Volare mission as flight engineer for Expeditions 36 and 37 and he was the first of ESA’s new generation of astronauts to fly into space.

Luca talks about space research, being a human guinea pig, dieting to avoid bone disease osteoporosis, human physiology, using ultrasound remotely to diagnose back problems, measuring eye pressure and how his body and mind reacted to living in weightlessness.

Luca is set for a second mission to the International Space Station in 2019.

Follow Luca and his adventures in space and on Earth via http://lucaparmitano.esa.int

More about Columbus here: http://www.esa.int/Columbus