A 17-year-old from Mitchells Plain who has never flown in an aeroplane will represent South Africa at a global space design competition
Zayaan Abdurahman, a Grade 11 learner at Mondale High School in Mitchells Plain, is one of a seven-member team that will compete in an international event at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in July.
Abdurahman was selected to represent South Africa in the International Space Settlement Design Competition. It will be the first time an African country is represented at the international finals.
“She has never been on a plane. She has never left South Africa,” said Jagger Doubell, founder of the South African Space Design Competition (ZASDC).
“In July, she will walk through the gates of Kennedy Space Center alongside teams from the U.S., UK, India, China, and Australia.”
Abdurahman earned her place at the inaugural ZASDC, where high school students were challenged to design futuristic, sustainable space settlements.
The South African event was held on the University of Cape Town’s upper campus in March 2026 and brought together 109 high schoolers.
Over two days, the students formed fictional aerospace companies, elected leadership teams, and produced engineering proposals for a permanent lunar settlement.
Their proposals were assessed by judges, including University of Cape Town mechanical engineering professor Wei Hua Ho.
Doubell explained that to qualify for the team going to the U.S., students had to demonstrate exceptional skills in communication, teamwork, and technical design proficiency.
Teams were composed of pupils from three or four different schools, meaning they didn’t know many of their fellow competitors at the start of the competition, which was part of the challenge.
Three companies, each with roughly 30 students, competed at the national finals. The majority of Team South Africa came from the winning company, but not all.
“We do this because there’s no singular person that makes or breaks a 30-person company. There are deserving, capable and outstanding students all round.”
Students were selected by their “company CEOs” — volunteers from the UCT Space Society — who were briefed and trained on what qualities to look for.
Each fictional company had two CEOs, and their selections were evaluated after the event to form the final team. Eight learners were selected, and seven will be going to NASA in Florida.
Preparing for the international competition
Doubell, a 19-year-old on a gap year, founded the South African chapter for the event after competing internationally in 2024 and 2025.
He said he discovered the competition while studying in the United Kingdom and noticed that he was the only South African in the room.
After returning to Cape Town, he pitched the idea of a South African national chapter to the heads of the Space Science and Engineering Foundation in the UK and Aerospace Education Competitions in the U.S.
Doubell said he received their endorsement to build the local competition, but had to establish and fund the initiative himself.
The ZASDC was modelled after the international competition to give students an idea of what to expect at the finals.
The international competition will include more than 270 competitors from countries across the world. Teams at the final will form fictional aerospace companies of 50–60 students.
“During the actual competition, students respond to a rigorous Request For Proposal modelled after real aerospace industry tenders,” Doubell explained.
“They then need to pitch to judges, including NASA engineers and former astronauts. This is the international finals, the challenge is tough.”
He said most countries’ teams have been through multiple rounds of events as they were more established organisations.
“As such, I am training Team South Africa to step up to the challenge before July.”
Shooting for the Moon
Abdurahman was part of team Earhart at the ZASDC, which presented their plan for a lunar settlement called Alaskol. (Download Alaskol presentation)
Her contribution to the final presentation was a design and schematic for the lunar base, which she prompted Gemini to produce a 3D model of, which was used on the title slide of their presentation.
“Competing in the South African Space Design Competition was stressful, especially since we only had 18 hours to complete our project,” Abdurahman said.
“I worked overnight with my team to finish our design, and I’m proud of what we achieved. This experience taught me that great effort leads to great outcomes.”
Abdurahman sent a special thank you to her Physical Sciences teacher, Ms Boonzaier. “If she hadn’t introduced us to the competition, I would have missed this opportunity completely.”
Reflecting on her selection, Abdurahman said she was overwhelmed when she learned she had been chosen to go to the International Space Settlement Design Competition.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m grateful for the chance to explore beyond my country,” she said.
Abdurahman credited her early fascination with space to time spent stargazing with her grandmother. “As a child, I often went camping with my family,” she said.
“My grandmother and I would sit outside at night watching the stars. I always found it surreal that there are millions of burning balls of gas floating in the universe.”
Abdurahman said she was excited about the opportunity to compete with and meet students from around the world.
“It really shows unity when learners from different places and backgrounds come together to work as a team,” she said.
Her fellow Team ZA members are Alaya Kaplen (Cannons Creek), Benjamin Honigwachs (Bishops), Dean Weich (Bishops), Ethan Schoombee (Fairmont High), Joseph Allderman, and Qaylah Omar (Cannons Creek).
The following students were named as reserves: Abigail Denton (Livingstone High), Aden van Rhys (Parklands College), Marley Kidha (Westerford High), and Mia Swart (Westerford High).
More photos of Zayaan Abdurahman and team Earhart at ZASDC 2026
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