Former Miss Ireland to take part in free online space workshop this Sunday

NASA Datanaut and former Miss Ireland Fionnghuala 'Fig' O'Reilly will be the guest of honor in an online space workshop this Sunday, November 19, allowing members of the public to ask questions of a leading figure in Ireland's emerging space industry. 

O'Reilly, who was crowned Miss Universe Ireland in 2019, works as an engineer and regional director of NASA's Space Apps Challenge in Washington DC and will take part in the online public workshop as part of SpaceFest at the National Space Centre in Cork. 

The free event starts at 6:30 pm GMT on Sunday, November 19, and is scheduled to run for 90 minutes. 

As part of the event, which is funded by the Science Foundation Ireland, O'Reilly will talk to artist Linda Curtain about the value of extending STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and the intersection of space and art. 

Their conversation will also focus on the need for DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in all aspects of STEM and the importance of companies reflecting the markets they serve. 

O'Reilly was recently invited to the European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands, the European Space Agency's main development and test campus for spacecraft and space technology. 

O'Reilly visited as part of an Irish delegation the launch of EIRSAT-1, Ireland's first-ever satellite which is scheduled to launch at the end of November. 

O'Reilly described the upcoming launch as an "incredible and historic achievement."

Members of the public who register for Sunday's online workshop will have the opportunity to ask O'Reilly about the upcoming launch. 

She will also answer questions about her STEM advocacy work for women and for women of color in addition to questions about her experience in the space industry. 

You can register for the free SpaceFest event "Inclusive Space: A STEAMy Conversation with Fig O’Reilly and Linda Curtain" online here.