ESA astronaut Timothy Peake will be heading to the International Space Station next year and he needs your help to name his six-month mission. Send us your suggestion and help to make history. The winner will receive a mission patch signed by Tim himself.

Tim was a helicopter test pilot and instructor before joining ESA's astronaut corps in 2009. He was assigned his mission last May and has been training non-stop to be part of Expedition 46/47 to the orbital outpost. He is following a long line of British explorers and scientists, stretching from the South Pole and the Nile to the Himalayas and now to outer space.

ESA's human spaceflight programme is aimed at gaining the knowledge to improve people's lives on Earth and to explore our Solar System. With this knowledge comes advances in areas such as science, technology and medicine.

Tim is an ambassador for UK science and space careers and works with the UK Space Agency developing their microgravity research programme.

Tim explains: "As a former test pilot, I believe that knowledge is gained when we explore the boundaries of what is technically and humanly possible."

His flight follows hot on the heels of a string of ESA astronauts on the International Space Station: Alexander Gerst, Samantha Cristoforetti and Andreas Mogensen from Germany, Italy and Denmark respectively each have their own mission to the space laboratory. They and Tim will complement their US, Canadian, Japanese and Russian colleagues running international experiments and maintaining the research complex.

"The International Space Station is a triumph of partnership and cooperation between many countries around the world," notes Tim.

His time on the Station will coincide with the second part of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko's year-long mission. Tim will be the first British astronaut on the Station.

As long as your entry is short and not copyrighted it should be eligible for entry. Click the link to read the full competition details and to send us your mission name. If your entry is chosen, it will fly to the Station with Tim.