Mission Discovery Ayrshire has returned for its week-long space programme.

Lead by the International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET), the programme began on Monday for around 150 secondary school pupils and college students.

Participants will work in teams to design a suitable experiment to be tested at the International Space Station in 2018.

Following the success of last year's programme, the opportunity has been made available for Ayrshie College students and secondary school pupils in in North, East and South Ayrshire.

Students will also benefit from talking to former NASA astronaut Michael Foale CBE and council excutive at HASA HQ Sarah Murray.

Tracey Stark, Chair of the Ayrshire College Foundation, said: "The Mission Discovery programme provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for Ayrshire pupils and students to engage with NASA leaders.

"We hope this year's group enjoy the experience as much as last year's. The prize on offer to the winners at the end of the week is truly exceptional - last year's winning team had their experiment taken to the International Space Station and work commenced earlier this month."

Michael Foale CBE was recently inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and has completed six missions.

He said: "I'm delighted to be back in Ayrshire, I'm really impressed with the students so far and I'm sure they'll deliver some great experiments to send to the International Space Station."