MIC over the moon as former NASA astronaut touches down for Space Week 2025. Pictured with former NASA astronaut Dan Tani were brothers Theo and Hugh Egan of Killinure National School, Boher. Co. Limerick.

Mary Immaculate College welcomed former NASA astronaut Dan Tani to its Limerick campus on Tuesday, October 7 for Space Week 2025

Former NASA astronaut Dan Tani giving a presentation to local school children in CRAFT Maker Space, MIC.

Mary Immaculate College (MIC) welcomed former NASA astronaut Dan Tani to Limerick on Tuesday, October 7, celebrating the international celebration of science, exploration, and innovation for Space Week 2025.

Tani, who spent over 130 days in space during two NASA missions including four months on the International Space Station, met with local primary school children in the morning, delivering an engaging and interactive presentation. before giving an inspiring public talk later that afternoon on the theme ‘Living in Space’.

The visit formed part of a national Space Week road trip coordinated by Munster Technological University’s (MTU) Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO), led by BCO’S founder and MTU Head of Research, Dr Niall Smith. This year’s Space Week (4-10 October) featured several hundred events across the country under this year’s theme of exploring what it means to live and work in space.

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Speaking at his public talk at MIC, Dan Tani said he was eager to inspire Irish audiences to see space as a field open to everyone, “Ireland is huge in Space Week—they have so many events and so much enthusiasm. My personal goal is to make sure people here know they can be involved in space. We’re going back to the Moon and on to Mars, and we’ll need experts in everything—engineering, law, business, food science, even fashion design. Ireland is rich in talent and skills, and I want to see many more Irish people get involved in the space industry.”

Reflecting on how his time in orbit changed his outlook on life and developed his pride of citizenship, Tani said, “When you look down from the space station, you see this beautiful planet rolling beneath you, and you realise how connected we all are. I felt such pride and kinship with everything on that planet—it reminded me that we’re all in this together.”

Dr Eleanor Walsh, STEM Outreach Project Officer, Enterprise and Community Engagement at MIC, said the visit was an extraordinary opportunity for students and the wider community to engage with real-world science and space exploration.

“We were thrilled to host former astronaut Dan Tani at MIC as part of Space Week. His passion and humility really resonated with both young learners and adults alike. An event like this shows how science can spark curiosity, creativity, and a sense of shared global connection—and that space exploration is for everyone.”

Dan Tani’s talk at MIC was one of the final stops on his Space Week Ireland tour, which also included events in Cork and Kerry. Space Week is Ireland’s national celebration of space and STEM, delivered in partnership with MTU, Research Ireland and the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) Ireland.