It is all part of the six-day international SpaceCRAFT Exploration Challenge at The Scots School.

As part of the event, students compete in teams using an online platform designed by NASA teachers, including former NASA astronaut Dr Gregory Chamitoff, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates the agency's world-wide Deep Space Network

Running for the second time, the challenge, Scots teacher and group leader Brad Murphy said, was a way students could work together in a team and learn essential skills such as "critical thinking and creativity".

The students are being asked to plan and conduct a successful virtual space mission from scratch, while interacting with industry professionals and like-minded peers.

"It's amazing the students have the opportunity to use the software and be involved," Mr Murphy said.

"There are 19 students from Scots School and nine from other local schools in the area. But there are 150 students from around the world, in Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia."

The group is tackling topics such as planetary science, spacecraft systems, orbital mechanics and robotic exploration.

Scots School student Gabriella Tecksingani, 12, said the program sparked her interest in studying engineering when she finished high school.

"It's awesome, a lot of stuff I want to do is connected to space," she said.

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"I want to study space so if we can understand the world around us, not just this Earth, we can help make a better future for us. It's awesome because we get to meet new people that we've never seen before, and we all have the same interests."

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