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Have you ever wondered what it's like to be Tim Peake , floating in a tin can 200 miles over the Earth?

A new documentary, premiering at the Science Museum in London on Monday 23 May, aims to offer the most intimate portrait yet of life aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

A Beautiful Planet is directed by Toni Myers - the acclaimed filmmaker behind celebrated documentaries Blue Planet, Hubble 3D, and Space Station 3D - in cooperation with NASA and IMAX Entertainment.

It is narrated by award winning actress Jennifer Lawrence , with all of the footage captured by astronauts using handheld digital cameras aboard the ISS.

"This is our seventh film shot in space. Our second film back in 1990 was a film called Blue Planet , which was the first time we'd looked at Earth from space," Myers told Mirror Online.

"I thought, some 20 years afterwards, it was time to return, now that we had a completed Space Station with a beautiful cupola for viewing, to go back and take stock and see what the state of affairs was."

The documentary captures crew arrivals and departures, and astronauts struggling in and out of their space suits, as well as more mundane moments of astronaut life - like making a cup of coffee in zero gravity and sampling NASA's first lettuce grown in space .

Most of the filming took place during weekends and evenings, according to Myers, with astronauts' unscripted conversations and observations making up much of the film's dialogue.

Read more:Think that pint's expensive? Here's how much a bottle of WATER costs on the International Space Station

"We're not allowed to interfere at all with the main timeline for the crews, which is doing the science and maintaining the station, so it's understood that we're bottom feeders in the hierarchy," said Myers.

For the most part, astronauts were allowed to document whatever they wanted aboard the ISS. The production crew had 30 hours to train them to use the equipment before they blasted off, and the astronauts were in regular contact with Myers throughout the filming.

"It's collaborative effort, but they contribute a lot to it, because they're very curious and creative people themselves," said Myers.

"We start off with a laundry list of shots that are around a given theme, like specific Earth targets, and also very general guidelines for inside – like I said, cover a holiday celebration, but I didn't necessarily say Christmas or Easter or anything."

(Image: BBC)

As well as the interior of the ISS, the film features stunning footage of our magnificent blue planet - and the effects humanity has had on it over time.

There is a strong environmental message, which is that our planet is complex and fragile, and it's important to try and find solutions to the problem of climate change.

Myers uses the ISS as a metaphor for the planet Earth - which she describes as a "closed loop system" for supporting life.

"Having worked on the film Space Station , where we captured the building of it, we obviously dealt with a lot of the systems it takes, and how much design and work it takes to keep six whole people alive, so I learned a lot about that then," she said.

Read more:There's a CRACK in a window of the International Space Station - British astronaut Tim Peake reveals the terrifying risk of space debris

"But I thought the best example of all is that you recycle everything where you can to conserve your resources. The other analogy that falls apart is that Earth, unlike the station, does not get supply ships ."

She added that the idea is not to be overly critical of humanity's impact on the planet, but to instill the importance of recycling, and conservation of resources, and more sustainable sources of energy in young children.

"I would love it if young kids are inspired to go off and pursue science and technology careers. And one of them build a fusion reactor, and we'll all be better off," said Myers.

A Beautiful Planet is showing now in 3D at the Science Museum in London. The film is 40 minutes long and tickets cost £5.