Over the moon: NI teen lands a spot at Houston space school

HOUSTON is calling for a Northern Ireland teenager after he secured a place on a prestigious space programme.

Lee Johnston will be getting the real Nasa experience in Texas this summer after winning a coveted place in the United Space School (USS) competition.

The 18-year-old from Lurgan will join a team of students from around the world who will study at the University of Clear Lake, next to the Nasa Johnson Space Centre in the US.

Lee said he is excited to go to Houston, which he describes as on his bucket list.

He is particularly keen to learn about Mars after doing research projects on the planet during his course at the college.

“Space has always been a big interest of mine from when I was young,” said Lee, a Year 1 Applied Science student at Southern Regional College,

“My granda and I would have used his telescope to look at the stars and, with his partner Eve, we would spend hours every weekend walking up and down the lane observing the night sky and talking about space.”

Lee’s goal is to work at the European Space Agency and he says this experience will be a huge help for him in gaining a career in astrophysics.

Laura Martin, SRC’S curriculum area manager, said the visit is a brilliant opportunity

“Lee is among of a handful of people in UK and Ireland who have been selected for this opportunity,” she said.

The USS competition was established by the Foundation for International Space Education (FISE), a private foundation with the mission to provide spacebased education to international pre-university students, while offering an introduction and orientation to the aerospace industry.

FISE invites students from over 28 countries to Houston to participate in USS.

Many of the countries selecting students for Space School are currently partners in the development and operation of the International Space Station.

The students at the United Space School will be designing their own ‘Mission to Mars’ under the mentorship of engineers, scientists and leaders in the aerospace industry.

Students will then be assigned to different teams for the Mission to Mars, each with a different objective: Mission Control; Mars Operation and Logistics; the Mars Transit team; Mars Habitation team and Mars Exploration.

Last year Lisa Murdock from Tandragee, Co Armagh, was one of the lucky visitors to the USS.

“During my time there, we were split into different groups and had to focus on specific space projects.

“I also had the chance to visit space centres, hear from guest speakers and met a few astronauts as well.

“My advice for Lee and others attending this year would be, ‘Go for it and get stuck in. Try and get to know as many people as possible. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’.”

Lee flies out to Houston to attend the United Space School on July 14.