A DCU STUDENT will compete this weekend in the hopes of becoming Irish man to go into space.

Seán Corcoran, a second year Software Engineering student from Finglas, will battle it out against 200 other potential astronauts from across Ireland and Britain for the chance to board a space flight next year.

The Lynx Apollo Space Academy National Challenge, being held in London this weekend, will involve a series of intense physical and mental challenges. The challenge will take place in front of a live audience at Westfield London on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July.

The four strongest candidates will be chosen at the end of the weekend and will then graduate to the Global Space Camp in Orlando, Florida, to join 22 other finalists from across the world. After intensive preparation for the challenges of space travel, one candidate will be selected to fly 103km into space in 2014 with space tourism company Spacexc.

Lynx’s global campaign to launch a person into space attracted 87,000 entries in Britain and Ireland alone.

Read: How astronauts wash their hair in space (GIFs)
Read: A return to the Moon could be hampered by… dust
Column: Why I want to be Ireland’s first female astronaut

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