International space week is coming to an end and if your class has shown an interest in Space there are several ongoing competitions and activities that your school could get involved with for free.

This December Tim Peake is due to go to the International Space Station and spend six months carrying out scientific experiments, he will be the first British ESA astronaut to visit the space station. Coinciding with the build up to his mission is The Astro Science Challenge, this is an interactive space science adventure for children aged 7-11. The adventure will run over the second half of the autumn term and will consist of seven missions, starting with a short class sign-up mission on the 19^th October and then the full missions will be released, one each week from Monday 2^nd November until Tuesday 15^th December, the launch of Tim Peake’s mission. The challenge is free to be involved with and you can register your interest here!

Another space related challenge is Mission X, this international educational challenge focuses on the fitness and nutrition needed to train like an astronaut. There are two upcoming challenges, Walk around the Earth running October – December and Walk to the Moon running January – April. Both Mission X challenges give a range of missions and the necessary student and teacher handouts alongside additional mission journals and supporting materials. Points are earnt by completing the missions and logging them on your account to help achieve the target of either walking around the earth (66 million steps) or walking to the moon (478 million steps)! There is no cost to be involved in Mission X, you just need to register with your country by contacting the in-country lead then completing the registration form.

If you do get involved with either of these challenges please let us know how it goes.