A science teacher from Saskatchewan who's adopted the name 'Saskatchanaut' is hoping his presence in cyberspace gets him to space.

Moose Jaw native Stephen Lys is participating in a contest sponsored by the AXE Apollo Space Academy.
As of Sunday, Lys, who has taken to Twitter and Facebook to shore up votes, was ranked 9th of 20 Canadian contestants.

AXE says it will choose the two Canadians who generate the most votes to join contestants from dozens of other countries at a space camp in Orlando later this year. One of the two Canadians will then win a trip into space.

To be considered for the flight, contestants are required to develop a profile explaining why they deserve to go to space and then get as many votes as possible.

On his profile, the self-described "space tourist hopeful" wrote: "I WANT TO GO TO SPACE BECAUSE... I teach Science to high school students and would like to show them how technology and determination are changing the [way] we see our role in the universe."

Lys told the Moose Jaw Times last week that “word is starting to get around,” but that he isn’t yet a “household name” or “water cooler chatter."

“I want people to say to each other, ‘Hey, have you seen how the Saskatchanaut is doing? Have you voted yet?’," he told the paper. "That’s when this thing really starts to snowball."

You can follow Lys on Twitter @saskatchanaut or visit him at facebook.com/Saskatchanaut