South African learners win NASA space design competition

Seven high school learners from South Africa’s Western Cape won the International Space Settlement Design Competition held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The group, representing the first South African entry in the competition, joined students from other nations to form Rockdonnell, the first team in the contest's history to include members from every inhabited continent.

The winning project, titled ‘Hermes’, proposed a crewed vessel designed to transport 3,000 residents and cargo continuously across the inner Solar System. The design featured a rotating structure to generate artificial gravity, nuclear thermal and ion propulsion, and a magnetic shield for solar radiation protection.

Individual recognition was also awarded, with Joseph Allderman receiving the Anita Gale Creative Genius Prize. The learners were selected following the inaugural South Africa Space Design Competition held at the University of Cape Town.