An engineer from Ballina, County Mayo could become the first Irish person in space.

Dr Norah Patten has entered a competition to win a coveted spot on an interplanetary rocket.

The competition is being run by LYNX deodorant and will give four lucky people the chance to see Earth from outer space.

Last Friday, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to land on the moon, introduced the deodorant brand's campaign to send non-astronauts into space.

Entrants sign up to the LYNX Space Academy and based on voting, the top 200 will advance to the national round of the competition. The top four recruits will be selected for the ‘Global Space Camp.’

The 29-year-old works as a post-doctoral researcher on a European Space Agency project at the University of Limerick.

Read more: The view from Ireland when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon

The astronaut hopeful said: “I developed a passion for space at an early age. This opportunity would be the realisation of a childhood dream.”

“Space has always been the career I set my heart on and I have had so many amazing experiences and opportunities over the past number of years. It is just unbelievable to think I could be in with a shot of actually going there.”

Patten has been an avid follower of space exploration since an early age.

In 2006, she graduated from the University of Limerick with a 1st class honors degree in Aeronautical Engineering. She also completed an 8-month internship in the Boeing Company in Seattle.

Click here  to cast your vote for Norah.

Buzz Aldrin Announces the LYNX Space Academy: