Footage of Irish American astronaut Scott Kelly pulling a hilarious prank on his crewmate on board the International Space Station by dressing up in a gorilla costume has recently gone viral on social media.
The footage, from February 2016, shows Kelly dressed as a gorilla emerging from a bag dressed on board the ISS and chasing after ESA astronaut Tim Peake, who frantically tried to get away from the ape.
A Twitter user shared the hilarious footage recently, erroneously accrediting Kelly's identical twin brother Mark, a former astronaut who now serves as an Arizona Senator.
The 15-second video has been viewed over nine million times since it was posted and has racked up more than 356,000 likes and 75,000 retweets.
Astronaut Mark Kelly once smuggled a full gorilla suit on board the International Space Station. He didn't tell anyone about it. One day, without anyone knowing, he put it on. (source: Reddit) pic.twitter.com/v7aVunL7QF
— SPENCE, TODD (@Todd_Spence) January 9, 2022
According to NASA, Mark Kelly, who retired in 2011, arranged for the suit to be sent to his brother as a surprise for his birthday.
Scott Kelly had been in space for almost a year as part of the ISS mission Expedition 46.
Scott tweeted footage of the hilarious prank on February 23, 2016, adding that he "needed a little humor" to help brighten up his year in space.
"Needed a little humor to lighten up a #YearInSpace. Go big, or go home. I think I'll do both. #SpaceApe," Scott Kelly said in February 2016.
Needed a little humor to lighten up a #YearInSpace. Go big, or go home. I think I'll do both. #SpaceApe https://t.co/Ift8VdDR4C
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 23, 2016