HE is about to blast off into space and make history - but his family aren't worried.

Astronaut Major Tim Peake will today become the first Briton to serve a mission on the International Space Station and only the eighth Briton to go into space.

But his experience of driving on one of Hampshire's busiest motorways each day stands him in good stead for his journey into orbit.

While 250 miles above the earth, he will be helping Hampshire doctors to test a revolutionary device designed to detect life threatening conditions in thousands of people which could also help pave the way for missions to Mars.

Medical experts in Southampton have developed a brain pressure check that is currently part of a major study at Southampton General Hospital that could see it rolled out across the NHS.

However, it is also being used in space to see if it can help tackle space-related visual problems and sickness in astronauts.

The device detects life-threatening head injuries and infections through pressure changes in the ear without the need for surgery or spinal procedures.

The cerebral and cochlear fluid pressure (CCFP) analyser is one of 265 experiments and tests that the European Space Agency astronaut will be doing in his six-month mission.

The 43-year-old former pilot and flight commander in the British Army, will be launching into space at 11.03am today, taking off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

The Chichester astronaut will be accompanied by Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko.

His father has said he was more worried about his son driving on the M27 than his imminent trip to space.

He said: “We’re not worried at all. We’ve been following his training and know how thorough it is, so we don’t have any fears.

"I’m more worried about him driving home on the M27. That’s far more dangerous, believe me, than going up there.”

Dr Robert Marchbanks, a consultant clinical scientist at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, pioneered the device and has been working with NASA and the UK Space Agency to find out if it can help to tackle space-related visual problems and sickness.

He said tests on astronauts suffering from visual disturbances that had not subsided when they returned to earth revealed raised pressure in their heads.

"NASA suspect this is due to a redistribution of bodily fluids towards the head and away from the feet in the absence of gravity,” he said.

"However, NASA feel this may only be part of the cause, hence the need for the experiment aboard the ISS.

"They don't yet know if the time spent in space makes a big difference to this but believe it might, which means long space missions would be most affected and that would threaten the long-term goal of reaching Mars due to the risk of deteriorating eyesight and impaired brain function."

The CCFP test involves a patient wearing headphones with an ear plug linked to a computer, enabling doctors to measure fluid pressure in the skull via a channel which links the inner ear with the brain.

As fluids in the ear and brain are connected, a change in pressure in the brain is reflected by a corresponding change in the ear.

Currently, this pressure can only be measured by drilling a hole through the skull to implant a pressure probe or a lumbar puncture, where a needle in the back penetrates fluid surrounding the spinal cord.

Get involved

 JUST like Major Tim Peake, residents could play their part in developing the revolutionary device back on earth.

The Southampton project is hoping to get more people to take part in tests of the cerebral and cochlear fluid pressure (CCFP) analyser.

Experts are looking for people who can give two hours of their spare time.

• To get involved or for more information call the research team on 023 8120 3370 or 023 8120 3713, email icpstudy@uhs.nhs.uk or visit uhs.nhs.uk/icpstudy.

They want healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 80 years old who will help to identify a normal range of pressures so that the headset can then be tried on patients on a wider scale.

Dr Tony Birch, head of neurological physics at the University of Southampton and co-lead of the Southampton CCFP study, said: "In addition to our work in space, it is vital we continue to move forward with our NHS study and ensure we get enough people signed up to test the equipment in Southampton."