[Press Release] On November 18, Boryung announced that it had successfully concluded the first Humans In Space Youth (HIS Youth) space science competition in collaboration with the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity (KOFAC).

HIS Youth, a newly established program jointly organized by Boryung and KOFAC, aims to cultivate young space talents. The program, initiated under the theme 'Sending Children's Dream into Space,' targets elementary, middle, and high school students across South Korea.

Elementary students submitted drawings on the theme of 'A Day in the Space Station.' Meanwhile, middle and high school students delved into the complexities of long-duration space missions with research proposals focused on 'problems and solutions that may arise in the human body when staying at the space station for more than a year.' Following an initial screening, 30 elementary and 10 middle and high school teams advanced to a mid-August workshop where they engaged with space experts. The late August final round narrowed the entries to 20 drawings and 3 research projects.

The winning middle and high school research teams had the opportunity to visit top space organizations and companies, including NASA, Axiom Space, and Intuitive Machines, from November 11 to 15.

Dr. Soyeon Yi, South Korea's first astronaut, who was inspirational to the students, enriched the program further. The research teams had the opportunity to present their research proposals to and receive feedback from Dr. Ariel Ekblaw, CEO of the Aurelia Institute at MIT Media Lab, and Professor Hak Soo Choi from Harvard Medical School. Moreover, students and their mentors participated in space-related educational programs at the Limitless Space Institute, a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to advancing space education.

The 'Byolnuri' team from Chungbuk Science High School, who won the grand prize with their research on 'Developing an AI-based intraocular pressure system and a small artificial gravity generator to prevent Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS),' expressed their excitement, saying, "During our visit to Axiom Space, we realized how amazing it would be if we could implement our designed experiment on a real space station."

Ryan Kagey, Axiom Station Program Production Senior Director from Axiom Space stated, ”It was a pleasure hosting Humans In Space Youth. Through facility tours and discussions with our team, we expanded the students’ knowledge about Axiom Space and the many careers supporting the commercial space industry. We believe the HIS Youth program plays an important role in empowering and educating students to be the future leaders in South Korea's space sector.”

Jay Kim, CEO and Chairman of Boryung, commented, “We're thrilled with the overwhelming response to our first HIS Youth program. Through HIS Youth, we're committed to fostering a new generation of space pioneers by offering continuous support and innovative programs that ignite young people's passion for space exploration.”

Meanwhile, the final selected artwork by elementary students is being proposed to fly on upcoming Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) under review with NASA. The artwork symbolizes the students’ accomplishments and celebrates South Korea’s leadership in the space sector.