It is a global challenge to be innovative. To be smart. To be cutting edge.
The reward? A rarity among Ph.D. and M.D. scientists even. Fly your experiment to the International Space Station. This is no zero-g plane (an amazing opportunity in and of itself). This is the real deal. And then it’s beamed live onto YouTube. Could this get any cooler?
It was so cool that even the NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver had to call the American winners and offer her thoughts.
“I want to congratulate the winners of the YouTube Space Lab contest for their outstanding proposals. I am especially proud of the two winners from the United States, Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma, and look forward to seeing the results of their experiments after they are flown and conducted on the International Space Station during Expedition 32 and 33 this summer. Earlier today, I had a chance to speak with Dorothy and Sara to thank them for their hard work, and salute them on behalf of NASA. As a national laboratory, our goal is to open up the space station to new paths for the exploration, discovery and economic development of space. Educating and inspiring the next generation of space explorers and scientists are among the most important things NASA can do, and these students are getting the opportunity of a lifetime. A contest like this taps into the passion of so many people who get involved, from the just over 2,000 students who submitted proposals to everyone who voted for them, and we want to encourage that passion and engagement.”
Now if that’s not a dream come true, I can hardly imagine what is! Congratulations to Dorothy and Sara as well as Amr Mohamed for dreaming big.
For information about the contest and to see the proposals from the 60 finalists, visit YouTube Spacelab.