Egyptian Omar Samra on Thursday became one of 25 lucky contest winners who will be passengers on a spaceship to be blasted into orbit.

Samra was one of the winners of a global contest run by Axe Apollo Space Academy.

Samra, 35, became the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest in 2007.

The winners were required to pass a number of physical and psychological tests.

"Tonight was one of those epic moments in a man's life, when you get the privilege to go to a place where few have," Samra wrote on his official Facebook page.