Space-obsessed teenagers will be interested in this one. YouTube is working with Chinese computer company Lenovo to give teenagers aged between 14 and 18 the opportunity to have their science experiments live streamed from the International Space Station, 250 miles above Earth.
The competition, called YouTube Space Lab, has been launched by Google-owned YouTube and will be judged by NASA chiefs, astronauts and Professor Stephen Hawking.
Six regional finalists will be brought to Washington, DC in March next year where, in recognition of their efforts, they’ll get to experience a thrilling (and possibly stomach-churning) zero-G weightless flight. They’ll also receive a Lenovo IdeaPad.
At the special event in DC, the two best science experiment ideas will be chosen by the panel of judges. The two winners will have their experiments carried out by astronauts on the International Space Station.
And there are more goodies in store for the two global winners – they can either enjoy a trip to Tanegashima Island in Japan to watch their science experiment blast off in a rocket heading for the International Space Station, or travel to Star City in Russia to take part in an astronaut training session alongside Russian cosmonauts.
YouTube says it hopes the competition will “inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts by allowing them the extraordinary opportunity of becoming real scientists whose research is conducted in space.”
Part of the entry process includes submitting a two-minute video explaining the idea for the experiment to YouTube’s Space Lab channel. There’s an excellent FAQ page here for any budding scientists interested in getting involved in YouTube’s initiative. The closing date for entries is December 7.
