Dervla wins space race

DERVLA BURKE is set to embark on a bold journey today and hopes to get in a bit of moonwalking. The 11-year-old will fly with her mother Mary to the US to explore the wonders of space.

Dervla, a fifth class pupil at Scoil Naomheoin in Midleton, Co Cork, was one of 10 schoolchildren picked from thousands to take on the FÁS Science challenge at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The children will train to be part of a space mission crew and their week-long programme will include learning how to moonwalk on the zero-gravity wall; what astronauts eat in space and how space robotics work.