Five secondary school students from Co Clare have embarked on a trip to Orlando after emerging victorious in a prestigious NASA space design competition. The students, hailing from St Flannan’s College, will be presenting their winning design at the International Space Development Conference in Orlando.

The National Space Society organizes this annual conference, which brings together leaders and enthusiasts from various sectors of the space industry. The winning team from St Flannan’s collaborated with students from St Dominic’s College in Cabra to create their winning entry, named 'Inis Beatha' or 'Island of Life'.

This next-generation space habitat utilizes artificial gravity and soil-less plant growth to recycle food, water, and oxygen essential for sustaining life in space. The students, with interests in physics, aeronautics, chemistry, and biology, envisioned diverse applications for the habitat, including lunar or planetary missions and spacecraft part assembly.

The innovative design of Inis Beatha, resembling a 'hollow-ring donut', could potentially reduce spaceship construction costs and facilitate the processing and transportation of rare minerals from celestial bodies like the moon or asteroids.

After meticulously examining every aspect of the habitat, the students clinched the top award for their senior group project, triumphing over 26,000 other entries in the competition held in April. The students received guidance and support from their teachers at St Flannan’s and St Dominic’s.

Physics teacher John Conneely expressed immense pride in the students' remarkable achievement, emphasizing the school's support and gratitude towards Shannon Airport for facilitating the trip. Tim Ryan from Shannon Airport extended a warm welcome to the team, highlighting the airport's delight in supporting the students and teachers on their journey to Orlando.