From the minds of the people who gave us Gundam and Godzilla, the Japanese boldy attempt to go where no man — aside from Aladdin — has gone before. As if the idea of a man flying on a carpet wasn’t enough, there is also video straight from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

TOKYO (AFP) – A Japanese astronaut tested a “flying carpet” in outer space, folded laundry and used eye drops as part of a series of zero-gravity challenges submitted by the public.

Standing on a white sheet, Koichi Wakata was gliding smoothly through a cabin of the International Space Station, as if snowboarding, in a video clip posted online by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

“I flew on this magic carpet by using adhesive tape so that the soles of my feet stayed on it,” the 45-year-old revealed, speaking into a microphone during what appeared at times like a variety show.

The experiment was part of 16 offbeat tasks selected from ideas sent to the space agency by hundreds of Japanese citizens, from nursery school pupils to a 90-year-old man.