Esa asks students to make space more roomy

For any student who has experienced the cramped delights and organised chaos of camping, a new international design challenge should appeal.

Space is always at a premium - how to pack five tons of kit into a small mesh sack, for example. The European Space Agency has asked design students to conceive new storage ideas for any interior, from a room to a car. But they must incorporate techniques, technologies or materials developed for space or used extensively in it.

Spacecraft, like tents, are short in the physical space department. With the high cost of delivering payload, every cubic centimetre of interior volume is exploited with breathtaking efficiency.

The agency has issued a brief, From Outer Space to Inner Space - Implications for Innovative Storage Design, as part of the second Design and Art Direction - National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts product design and innovation awards. The competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate designers across Europe.

The closing date for entries is next March. Three winners will be selected by the jury three months later, and each given funding and encouragement to develop their ideas.

The Esa award's brief is one of three. The others are Conran & Partners for designing cutlery for use with all types of meals worldwide and the Design Council for redesigning a common object or service to increase its business potential and decrease its environmental impact.

Details and entry form: www.dandad.org