A star gazing fanatic has launched himself into contention to win a flight to outer space.
Michael Eyer is currently flying high towards the top of the leaderboard of the Lynx Space Academy competition, which will see one lucky winner take a rocket trip into orbit in 2014.
The contest is endorsed by Buzz Aldrin, the second man ever to walk on the moon, and Michael, of Newbold, Chesterfield, said it would be out of this world if he was to win.
“I’ve always loved astronomy and sci-fi,” said Michael, 40, who owns his own IT company.
“Going into space is something I’ve always wanted to do and when I found out the competition I entered straight away.”
Michael and the other hopeful space cadets will battle to keep themselves in on the leaderboard until April, when they will move onto the national phase of the Lynx Space Academy
That will involve travelling to a secret destination to undertake a series of NASA-style tests - before four people are chosen to go to Orlando, Flordia, for a Global Space Camp.
But daredevil Michael said he isn’t phased by the physical and mental examinations, which Lynx warn are ‘not for the faint hearted.’
“I’ve done a skydive from 12,000 and loved it, so the tests don’t worry me,” he said.
Michael, who is also a producer at RedRoadFm in Rotherham, is desperate for votes to keep him in the race and at one stage was top of the leaderboard.
“It won’t be easy but I’m determined to keep people voting for me until the very end,” he said.
Comments