NASA says there is a GORILLA on the International Space Station; WATCH space ape viral video

In the space ape viral video, a gorilla can be seen chasing after NASA astronaut Tim Peate on the International Space Station (ISS).

An astronaut smuggled a gorilla suit onto the International Space Station (ISS) to scare other NASA astronauts. (Twitter)

Filmmaker Todd Spence has revealed an especially funny incident that took place aboard the International Space Station (ISS). He posted a video clip on Twitter that is 15 seconds long, in which NASA astronaut Tim Peate can be seen rushing in panic to escape from a fearsome gorilla that is chasing after him on the International Space Station (ISS), some 248 miles (400 km) above the Earth! The space ape video has gone viral on Twitter with more than 230K likes and 50K retweets.

The hilarious prank was masterminded by American engineer and astronaut Scott Kelly. In 2016, he managed to get a gorilla costume onboard the space station. He took the suit on the International Space Station during a resupply mission. Every astronaut is given an allotment for personal items and extras, and Kelly took the opportunity to bring, of all things, a gorilla suit!

What followed soon was pure hilarity. During a mundane day on the ISS, astronaut Kelly sneakily took out the gorilla suit and wore it. After wearing the costume he hid in a soft storage container. All this while, his NASA crewmate Peate was busy in a different area. After waiting in the container for a while, gorilla suit-clad Kelly went looking for his crewmate. Shortly after, Peate was seen rushing away in fear as Kelly chased after him in amusement.

The prank brought everyone on the ISS a moment of laughter and delight. This unusual moment also gave the researchers some time off, thanks to Kelly.

Apparently, Scott - whose twin brother Mark is also an astronaut - played the prank to celebrate the completion of his one year in space. The NASA astronaut had spent a total of 340 days in space. Kelly was part of a long-term mission in space where NASA wanted to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body. Returning to Earth in March 2016, he participated in a comparative study to understand the changes he underwent during his space stay. It was observed that Kelly's genes were slightly different, with the most striking characteristic being an increase in the length of telomeres relative to before his spaceflight.

https://twitter.com/CaptMarkKelly/status/701918950678892544

At the time of the incident, he tweeted, “Needed a little humor to lighten up a #YearInSpace.”

"Go big, or go home. I think I'll do both. #SpaceApe,” he added later.