Aldrin hails space trip competition

Buzz Aldrin has launched a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an average Briton to blast into orbit.

One UK competition winner and 21 others from around the globe will be sent to where only a few elite have gone before, grooming brand Lynx said.

Aldrin, the astronaut and pilot of the historic Apollo 11 spacecraft which landed on the moon in 1969, said: "Space travel for everyone is the next frontier in the human experience."

The 82-year-old, who recently divorced from his third wife Lois Driggs Cannon, reportedly citing irreconcilable differences, added: "I'm thrilled that Lynx is giving the young people of today such an extraordinary opportunity to experience some of what I've encountered in space."

Top-voted candidates will qualify for the Lynx Space Academy challenge weekend, held this summer, where they will face physical and mental Nasa-style tests.

The four strongest candidates will then be flown to Orlando, Florida, to experience what it is really like to be an astronaut in the final series of challenges.

Only one lucky winner will secure their place to go to space in 2014.

To mark the launch of the epic adventure, astronauts have arrived in the UK along with a replica of the epic Lynx SXC (Space Expedition Corporation) space shuttle which the winner will travel to space in.

Weighing in at 1.5 tonnes and the width of three double-decker buses, the shuttle will be on display for the first time in the UK at Westfield White City on January 12 and 13.

Budding space travellers can create an astronaut profile on LynxApollo.com explaining why they should be picked. Competition details will be released in an advertising campaign.