Romantic or recipe for disaster? Astronaut takes couple’s wedding rings into orbit (PHOTO)

A French astronaut has taken his wedding duties to stratospheric levels by bringing wedding rings belonging to his two friends on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who became the first Frenchman to work on the ISS in nearly a decade last November, has been in orbit for more than 127 days.

The former airline pilot is on board the artificial satellite to further examine the effects of weightlessness on the human body and “prepare for future voyages of exploration into the Solar System.”

However, Pesquet also appears to be on a very personal mission. He has revealed on Twitter that he packed two wedding rings belonging to a soon-to-be-wed couple in his “hand luggage” during his trip to the Earth-orbiting space station. “I’ll be back in time to be their witness,” he promised.

The ‘out of this world’ gesture has prompted a wave of online admiration, with commenters amazed that the newlyweds will soon have special ‘space rings’ to mark their union.

Meanwhile, others joked about what might happen if Pesquet fails to return to Earth on time for the ceremony.

“Honey, we can’t marry, our rings are still 400km away and moving at 28,000mph,” one person tweeted.

Another Twitter user imagined a scenario where Pesquet forgets to bring the rings back down to Earth: “Oh sh*t, I forgot them in the glove box.” 

Pesquet is due to return from the ESA Proxima mission in May. As well as posting a picture of the rings floating above Earth, the astronaut also dedicated a Basement Jaxx song to the unknown, loved-up duo.