YouTube and Lenovo announced the launch of the YouTube Space Lab, a worldwide initiative that challenges 14-18 year-old students to design a science experiment that can be performed in space.

The two winning experiments will be conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and live streamed on YouTube. A panel of judges including Professor Stephen Hawking, William Gerstenmaier from NASA, former Astronauts Leland Melvin, Frank De Winne, Akihiko Hoshide and Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberte will judge the entries with input from the YouTube community.

The Space Lab initiative is launched in cooperation with Space Adventures and space agencies including NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Google and NASA have a MoU that outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry.

Zahaan Bharmal (Head of Marketing Operations, EMEA, Google):  YouTube launched Space Lab to allow ordinary students the extraordinary opportunity of having their experiment carried out in space.