Many boys will dream of going into space as an astronaut to travel the cosmos and battle aliens.
While the ambition of piloting a rocket or stepping on Mars may be only limited to a few lucky and well trained individuals, one Norfolk youngster is gearing up for his own space exploration project.
Guy Lynskey, a year nine pupil at Caister Academy, has been chosen to take part in a NASA mission.
The youngster has designed a sculpture that will be placed aboard NASA’s water recovery X-ray-rocket will be launched into sub-orbital space from the Pacific Marshall Islands on April 4.
As the rocket travels through space Guy’s sculpture, which is the size of a sugar cube and must withstand 12G of force, will be used in a micro-gravity experiment which the Caister Academy pupils will be able to watch on 3D headsets.
After the NASA rocket lands, Guy’s sculpture will be returned to the school with a certificate that it has been in space.
Guy’s sculpture is part of a national scheme called SUGRE-1, the schools micro-gravity experiment set up by Dynamic Imaging Analytics Limited.
The Bletchley Park-based science innovation company asked schools across the country to take part, with Caister Academy one of the 120 schools already taking part in the event.
As part of the competition Caister Academy ran a challenge within its Space and Beyond project to design an object sent into space.
Caister Academy principal Michelle Strong said: “We are absolutely delighted to see Guy’s design will be on the rocket. All the pupils and staff are excited and can’t wait to follow the launch.”
Dr Neil Murray, director at Dynamic Imaging Analytics Limited, said: “We are over the moon to be gifted this fantastic and rare opportunity for kids to engage in a real life space mission. I recognised the challenge to inspire children into STEM careers and so I hope this opportunity will give valuable insight into how exciting working in the field can be.”
The rockets is being built and tested at the NASA Wallop site in Virginia. Its main role involves a high energy astropsychics telescope mission.
Visit www.SuGRE-1.com to find out how to follow the rocket project.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here