An Irish scientist has been invited to spend a year working in Florida with NASA as a result of research she has carried out on Irish raised bogs.
Michelle McKeon, who is an environmental lecturer at the Limerick Institute of Technology, has been examining plants that grow on Clara bog in Co Offaly.
NASA believes her discoveries could have implications for the growing of plants and food without the need for soil.
Research in this area forms part of NASA's Mars colonisation project.
Ms McKeon will travel to Cape Canaveral on Sunday.
She says if all goes well she could eventually be trained as a mission specialist astronaut to take part in future space exploration missions.
Details are expected to be announced of 12 other Irish university graduates who have been invited to spend six weeks with NASA.
