Scientists at the University of Liverpool are offering young people the chance to have their very own artwork blast off into space!
The team behind the MicroAge project - which studies muscle ageing in microgravity by sending experiments to the International Space Station (ISS) - have invited children aged from 6-16 (year groups 2-11) to enter a competition to design their next 'mission patch'.
MicroAge are collaborating with the UK Space Agency and Kayser Space Ltd to carry out research experiments on the International Space Station to help solve the puzzle of why our muscles get weaker as we age and find possible ways to prevent it.
Their next mission, Microage II, will blast off later this year and aims to will use lab-grown human muscles to observe the effects of microgravity. Here they'll test whether mitochondria play an important role in muscle loss in space and determine whether applying tension can slow the degeneration process - this could help scientists rapidly develop therapies to reduce muscle loss as we age.
Competition entrants can be individuals or whole schools/classes/groups, with 'space', 'international', 'Liverpool', 'energy' and 'exercise' as some suggested themes mission patch designs could include.
12 of the entries will be chosen as finalists to be sent to the ISS with the muscles, with the overall winning patch being adapted by a graphic designer and used on all MicroAge II clothing and documentation.
Click here for full competition details and to find out how to enter. The closing date is Sunday 2 February 2025.
MicroAge's Professor Anne McArdle said: "We're excited for our next MicroAge mission and to give children a chance to be a part of it. Spaceflight is an extreme environment that causes many negative health changes to the body and astronauts can lose up to 30 per cent of their muscle after 6 months in space. These changes are regarded as an accelerated model for the ageing process in the body, and scientists can use the knowledge gained from studying changes in astronauts to better understand the ageing human body."
Learn more about the MicroAge research projects investigating skeletal muscle ageing in microgravity.
