Steve Obeid has been offered an out of this world opportunity.
The year 12 St Albans Secondary College student has been selected to attend a NASA space camp at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Alabama – and he needs your help.
The six-day camp is designed for vision-impaired and blind students and is all about challenging the myth that a career in space is only for the sighted. Steve, 18, has a degenerative eye condition called Stargardt’s disease. Doctors have told him that he is likely to lose most of his central vision – as opposed to his peripheral vision – by the time he is 30, but he is not letting the diagnosis hold him back.
Steve will join 200 students from around the world in September for the space camp, during which he will take part in a six-hour simulated space mission.
The experience will include emulating life on a space station, scuba diving to simulate weightlessness, astrophysics, space and rocket science, and team building.
“They say it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I think so, too,” Steve said.
His mum Mary added: “Once he was diagnosed, he lacked a lot of confidence. This will give him encouragement.”
To donate, direct debit Heatherwood School BSB 063 146, account 10074922.
Charlene Macaulay
