Space Academy, a new show from RTÉ Kids coming in 2023, is offering eight lucky transition year students the opportunity of a lifetime to have an out of this world experience at NASA’s Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama!
The chosen eight will travel to the USA to experience astronaut training techniques adapted from NASA and ESA’s astronaut training programme.
The closing date for applications is Sunday, 20 November at 12:00pm!!
Click here to apply for the show!
Activities for the wannabe astronauts will potentially include simulating a moonwalk, being flung in all directions on a multi-axis trainer, simulating a Space Walk and training in the Underwater Astronaut Trainer and even commanding your own simulated space mission.
Each challenge is designed to show the mental, emotional and physical demands experienced by astronauts, engineers and technologists in space.
All of this will take place at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama on the same NASA site where the Saturn V rocket, which put man on the moon, was developed and where the latest space project Artemis, was conceived. It’s home to one of the most impressive collections of Space artefacts in the world, with an array of full-size rockets, moon rock, and the Apollo 16 command module, that orbited the moon 64 times.
If you think you know someone whom you think would benefit from this amazing opportunity, please get in touch.
How to apply
In your video clip (max duration 2 minutes) please explain why you would like to be chosen for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tell us about yourself and why you would love to go to Space Camp – be as creative as you like, but make sure you follow our Video Guidelines (available to view here).
The production team will select 20 applicants to take part in a series of challenges at a one-day event in Ireland (the Selection Day). The exact date and location for the Selection Day will be announced as soon as we have that information.
That Selection Day will also be filmed for the series. On the day of that event, the Final 8 who will be going to Space Camp will be chosen, along with a number of standby participants, who may be offered the opportunity to go to Space Camp if a selected participant is unable to go, for any reason.
If you are selected to go to Space Camp in Alabama, your participation in the series will be strictly subject to 2 travel conditions which will apply to both you and your accompanying parent / guardian / chaperone; (a) holding a valid passport; (b) being approved for and granted a US travel Visa/ESTA.
Mind The Gap will be producing the show and all applications will be managed by them!
