By Our Foreign Staff and Agencies in Tokyo
Last Updated: 7:39PM BST 19 May 2009
In a string of zero-gravity tests sent in by the public, a Japanese astronaut rode on a "flying carpet" in outer space, folded up some laundry, and refreshed his eyes with eye drops.
In a different test, Wakata used eye drops in zero gravity, pressing out a small ball of the solution and letting it linger on the tip of the bottle before putting it to his eye.
Wakata also folded laundry, having difficulty with a shirt and a blue space overall, but accomplishing the task nevertheless.
http://video.telegraph.co.uk/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=23746257001
Koichi Wakata also showed how difficult it is to do something as simple as folding laundry and using eye drops as part of a series of zero-gravity challenges submitted by the public.
To test his magic carpet, he stood on a white sheet before gliding smoothly through a cabin of the International Space Station, as if snowboarding, which can be seen in a video clip posted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa).
"I flew on this magic carpet by using adhesive tape so that the soles of my feet stayed on it," the 45-year-old astronaut revealed, speaking into a microphone during what appeared at times like a variety show.
The experiment was part of 16 offbeat tasks selected from ideas sent to the space agency by hundreds of members of the Japanese public, from nursery school pupils to a 90-year-old man.
Tackling another challenge, Mr Wakata showed how to use eye drops in zero gravity, squeezing out a tiny ball of liquid and letting it perch at the tip of the container before carefully bringing it to his eye.
He also handled the awkward task of folding laundry in zero gravity, struggling with a shirt and then, for added difficulty, the floating arms and legs of a blue space overall.
He performed the tasks in the Japanese laboratory Kibo (Hope) of the ISS on May 15, having also performed challenges in April, including push-ups.