A POST-GRADUATE student has been chosen to take part in a space exploration mission.

Charles Laing, of Jackdaw Close in Stevenage, left the UK for Strasbourg in France yesterday (Monday) to embark on an intense nine-week space study mission, where he will learn about everything from space mission design to the risks of solar flares.

The former John Henry Newman student was given the opportunity after winning a coveted scholarship worth €17,500 from the UK Space Agency.

Charles, 24, who is currently in the first year of his PhD in space medicine at King’s College London, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to broaden my knowledge of not only the UK space sector but also internationally. I am extremely grateful to the UK Space Agency for supporting me through this scholarship and I look forward to putting the skills I learn to good use on my return to the UK.”

This will not be Charles’ first encounter with space exploration after he spent three months researching training methods for missions to Mars and experienced the G-forces felt by astronauts on their return to Earth.