Why is Tim Peake controlling a Mars rover from ISS?

British astronaut Tim Peake is taking part in an experiment to control a prototype Mars rover on Earth while he is in orbit on the International Space Station.

The rover, named Bridget, is located in a simulated Martian landscape at Airbus in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The experiment aims to find out if astronauts circling Mars could control exploratory rovers on the Red Planet, as this clip explains.