Launching Dreams into Orbit: CSC’s INNOV Team

Published On: May 30, 2025Categories: Blog3.6 min read

Launching Dreams into Orbit: CSC’s INNOV Team Heads to International Space Conference in Orlando, Florida, USA

We are thrilled to share the extraordinary news that a group of CSC students learners will be attending the prestigious International Space Development Conference (ISDC) hosted by the National Space Society (NSS) in Orlando, Florida, from 19–22 June 2025.

After months of dedicated research, teamwork, and innovative thinking, our team’s space settlement project, INNOV, was entered into the Gerard K. O’Neill Space Settlement Contest 2025. Now, the students behind this ambitious project will represent our school at an event which provides an international stage for learning and discussion, were top young minds, scientists, engineers, and space industry leaders all come together for an experience like no other.

During this international conference, they will have the chance to:

  • Attend keynotes and panels led by NASA scientists, astronauts, and innovators from the space industry.
  • Network with other student teams and professionals from around the world.
  • Be immersed in the latest conversations around space settlement, interplanetary travel, AI in space, and sustainability.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime educational opportunity that will expand their horizons, literally and figuratively.

Meet the Visionaries Behind INNOV

The INNOV team is composed of an exceptional group of primarily Grade11 students, whose passion for science, technology, and space exploration drove them to develop a fully-fledged proposal for a sustainable human settlement orbiting Mars.

Their names deserve to be celebrated: Abdulkader Chwihna; Alexandru Mihai Demsa; Anastasiia Tkachenko; Andrei Lazar; Hussein Haidar; Jolanda Todaro; Joseph Aouad; Ceylin Nil Parlak; Sabina Maria Tolea; Emma Cristescu; and Vlad Cristian Panait.

This impressive team worked tirelessly to develop a technically detailed, environmentally sustainable, and socially conscious orbital settlement design. Their project showcased advanced systems in habitat design, artificial gravity, food and water production, education, governance, and space logistics, demonstrating an outstanding level of creativity, critical thinking, and scientific skill.

Why It Matters

Space exploration is not just about rockets and stars, it’s about humanity’s future, and the role that young innovators will play in building it. By participating in the INNOV project and representing our school at ISDC 2025, our students are learning that no dream is too big when it is backed by knowledge, collaboration, and determination.

Their work proves that students are capable of tackling some of the world’s most complex challenges and thinking beyond Earth, toward a future that they will help create.

Thank You to Our Generous Sponsors

This journey would not be possible without the unwavering support and generosity of our sponsors. We are immensely grateful to everyone who believed in this project and chose to invest in these young minds and their dream of reaching for the stars. Your support has enabled us to make this life-changing opportunity a reality.

You are helping shape the future of science, innovation, and leadership.

To our INNOV team: We are proud beyond words.

Now go and show the world what brilliance, passion, and education can achieve.

This incredible journey was made possible thanks to the collaboration of many brilliant minds. The students pictured below are those who will represent CSC on the global stage—but we proudly carry the spirit of the entire team with us.