Three Isle of Man sixth-form students recently returned from an extraordinary two-week experience at the prestigious United Space School in Houston, Texas, where they worked alongside peers from around the world to plan a simulated crewed mission to Mars.

Leo Crowe, Charlie Needham, and William Shooter were this year’s recipients of scholarships awarded by River Advisers (formerly the ManSat Group), which has been sponsoring Isle of Man students to attend the Space School since 2000.

The scholarship winners joined over 50 students from more than 20 countries, gaining insight into the challenges of space exploration while receiving mentorship from NASA astronauts, engineers, and scientists.

Late last month the trio were presented with certificates by Education Minister Daphne Caine in recognition of their achievements during a ceremony at the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) offices in St John’s.

Leo, Charlie, and William were joined at Space School by Ciara Sowerby, a previous scholarship winner, who travelled to Houston as student mentor for the second year running.

Reflecting on the experience, Ramsey Grammar School student Leo Crowe described it as ‘absolutely phenomenal’, noting how much he learned from both the NASA professionals and his fellow students.

‘What surprised me was just how much experience all the teachers and speakers had, whether related to NASA or thespaceindustry in general’, he said.

‘It was an incredible opportunity to listen to them talk about their fields of expertise’.

The experience, which involved designing equipment for use on Mars, helped solidify his plans to study maths at university.

Fellow Ramsey Grammar School student Charlie Needham is studying A-levels in physics, computer science, information technology and core mathematics.

‘I had a wonderful time in Texas and am really grateful for the opportunity’, said Charlie.

‘The highlights were visiting Space Centre Houston and eating American food, specifically brisket!

‘We got to meet people from all over the world, who all shared a similar interest in space exploration.’

William, who attends St Ninian’s High School, is studying maths, further maths and physics at A-Level.

He said: ‘We got to meet, spend time with and hear from some truly inspirational people from thespaceindustry.

‘My host was Tom Sanzone, who was involved in training Neil Armstrong and some of the other Apollo astronauts for the moon landing, so you can imagine he had some really interesting stories to tell!’

Daphne Caine MHK said: ‘It was a pleasure to meet Leo, Charlie and William and hear about their incredible experiences in Houston.

‘I would encourage all current year 12 students who have an interest in STEM subjects and the space industry to enter the competition to win scholarships to next year’s Space School.’

Applications for the 2025 Space School will open soon, with more details available at www.riveradvisers.com/scholarships.