IN SPACE - MAY 8: This NASA photo released May 8, 2003 was made from 250 separate exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from Dec. 2, 2002 to Jan. 11, 2003 and shows the nearest neighboring spiral galaxy, Andromeda. According to NASA, this is the deepest visible-light image ever taken of the sky and shows approximately 300,000 stars in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy. (Photo Credit: NASA/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — His dream has always been to visit space, and that dream is closer than he might think.

Jeremy Gowins, 25, is one of 20 finalists in the Seattle Space Needle’s Space Race.

A total of 50,000 people entered, and Gowins said 1,000 entrants were randomly selected. That’s where his luck kicked in.

“One of my friends told me that the Seattle Space Needle was holding a contest for their 50th anniversary to send one lucky person into space. So, I filled out the entry form and hoped for the best,” said Gowins.

Out of the 1,000 selected, Gowins’ entrance video was chosen by judges in the final 20.

The top prize is a suborbital space flight, provided by Space Adventures, that would launch Gowins (if he wins) 62 miles above earth.

“I’ll definitely be able to see the atmospheric haze and I’ll be able to see the blackness of space and I’ll be able to see the planet,” Gowins said when KDKA’s Heather Abraham interviewed him at the Carnegie Science Center.

Exactly how does he win?

Well first, he needs to get enough votes to get him in the Top 5. People can vote once a day, every day until March 18.

Visit his entrance video and vote at this link!

Once Gowins makes top five, he says he’ll be flown out to Seattle to battle it out for the space flight. He’s not quite sure what the challenge will be, but says he’s prepared for anything.

He also plans to bring something special if he wins.

“If I do win, I thought it would be cool to take a Terrible Towel up into space,” said Gowins.

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