Astronaut Chris Hadfield Stars In Movember Clip

Moustached astronaut Chris Hadfield has leant his support to Movember in a comedy YouTube video watched by hundreds of people every minute.

The Canadian, whose six-month stay on the International Space Station turned him into a global celebrity, filmed a 60-second clip to promote awareness of the prostate and testicular cancer campaign.

It was viewed more than 265,000 times in the 18 hours after it was uploaded - the equivalent of nearly 15,000 views every hour.

In the video , Cmdr Hadfield, a former fighter pilot who served in the Cold War, pokes fun at his latest YouTube offerings , which show an astronaut having a "difficult time readjusting" to life on Earth.

"I kept making these videos of my daily life, assuming everyone would still be interested," he says, as he demonstrates how to pour a bowl of cereal and fold clothes with the help of gravity.

Cmdr Hadfield's "Astronaut's Guide To..." series, which shows a spaceman struggling to sip a cup of tea, commute to work and erect a tent, among other mundane tasks, has been watched tens of thousands of times.

However, the 54-year-old, who announced his retirement from space exploration earlier this year , said: "I admit I was a little disappointed when I saw how few hits they were getting on YouTube."

In the promo for Movember, Cmdr Hadfield's son tells his father: "You've got Movember on the phone and they want you to make a video about cancer research."

After asking what the campaign team want him to do, Cmdr Hadfield looks into the camera and says: "Hi, I'm Chris Hadfield, famous astronaut, and I have a moustache."

"How many hits do you think this'll get?" he jokes, as the video comes to an end.

About 890,000 people have joined this year's Movember campaign, asking for sponsorship as they grow their facial hair for a month.

More than £90m was raised globally in 2012, with funds given to a number of men's health programmes, including those run by Prostate Cancer UK and the Institute of Cancer Research.