Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has enjoyed an out-of-this-world experience ahead of this weekend’s US Formula One Grand Prix.

Ricciardo and Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen took some time out before the race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas to visit NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in nearby Houston.

The pair simulated reduced gravity situations in a training device used by astronauts and drove space vehicles during the visit.

They also had a look at the centre’s mission control, which Ricciardo noted had a lot of similarities to Red Bull’s England headquarters.

“We went to mission control here and it’s really like what we have in the Ops Room in Milton Keynes,” Ricciardo said.

“Even the safety technology is similar. The astronauts go through the same measurements, a similar kind of HANS (head and neck support) device … it’s really cool.”

The sightseeing done, Ricciardo will aim to build on his ninth podium finish of the year in Japan when the Formula One action begins on Saturday morning in Texas.

While England’s Lewis Hamilton, who holds a 59-point lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings, could wrap up the title at Austin, Ricciardo is still very much in the hunt for a top-three finish.

The 28-year-old finished third in Japan to move within 42 points of Finland’s Valtteri Bottas and third place on the drivers’ championship standings.

Ricciardo has twice finished third at the US Grand Prix, including at last year’s event where he ended up behind Hamilton and eventual world champion Nico Rosberg.

The US Grand Prix starts on Monday at 6:00am.