This page was exported from Caledon Citizen [ https://caledoncitizen.com ] Export date:Mon Jul 1 15:15:38 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Students learn why woman wants to go to Mars --------------------------------------------------- By Bill Rea Humans are getting ready to embark on another world, and many people are vying to make the trip. Mars One is aiming to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. The plan is to have crews of four leave every two years, starting in 2024. About 100 people are still in the running to make the one-way trip. There are no provisions in place for any of these people to get home, so they will spend the rest of their lives on Mars. One of those people is Joanna Hindle, and she spent part of Friday morning talking to Grade 7 and 8 students at Macville Public School from her home in Whistler, B.C., through Skype. Hindle, 42, is a high school English teacher whose interests include learning, reading, pondering, writing, dreaming and laughing. According to her page on the Mars One website, she enjoys humour, especially puns and slapstick, and tomatoes. She also stated she has no scientific background. “I don't get bored, ever,” she said on the website. She also had lots to say to the students. Teacher Brandon Pachan said they had been following her of Twitter, and she responded. He asked if she would be interested in doing such a session with the student, and she responded right away. He added the students spent about a week developing their questions, which ran the range of what personal items she would take on the journey to whether she feels like she's being exploited. “I've never seen them so engaged for that period of time,” Pachan later said. Although she would never be able to come home again, if she's selected, Hindle did say communication with her family would still be possible, although there would be a 20-minute delay each way for the transmission to travel the distance. “I could be at family dinners if I wanted to,” she said. One of the boys in the class wondered what would happen if the spacecraft were to run out of fuel. “We have to trust the really smart people,” she said, adding none of the occupants are likely to be qualified to pilot such a machine. She pointed out a team in space will be building the actual life-support units. “It will basically be like a remote-control car from Earth,” she commented, adding there won't be a lot of fuel needed, and they will be able to carry out simple course corrections. Since she'd be slated to spend the rest of her life on Mars, Hindle was asked what will happen when she dies. She said she'll be cremated, adding they won't want to put any organic matering in the Martian soil. She was asked about the possibility of encountering aliens on Mars. “It's very, very doubtful,” Hindle replied, pointing out if there were any large creatures to be encountered, that would likely be known by now. She added the only thing that scares her is the possibility of germs, etc., in the ground water. The plan is to heat the soil and extract the water from it, so there's no way to be sure there's nothing harmful there. “There's nothing you can do if they will always come for you,” she observed. One boy asked about the possibility of a meteor hitting the ship during the voyage. “We'll be in a lot of trouble,” she replied, commenting that debris could knock the croft off course and they could miss Mars, “ which will be unfortunate.” “Thanks for bringing that up,” she joked. Ideally, the trip to Mars should take 210 days. Hindle said they would be using what's known as the Hohmann transfer orbit to find the exact spot they want on the planet. Hindle told the students it's going to cost about $6.3 billion to sent the first group of four people to Mars. “That's only 20 block-buster movies,” she said, bringing it into perspective. “We can make 20 real cool movies about going to Mars, or we can go to Mars.” She also said it's private investors who are putting up the money for this. Mars One is a non-profit organization. “Don't you feel like you're being used?” one girl asked. “I don't feel used at all,” was the quick reply, adding the reason she wants the program organizers to pick her to go is so she can learn. “If anything, I feel like I'm using them a bit.” The idea of procreating on Mars was brought up. Hindle said there have been experiments with mammals being born away from Earth, and they have not gone well. Martian gravity is about 38 per cent of Earth's, so she said there will be issues with woman carrying babies to term. She added radiation levels will be high, and that could impact on it too. She also pointed out special clothing would be needed for babies and children as they grew, and it would be a long time before that's available. If any emergencies develop, Hindle said they will have to be dealt with on Mars. She said it's understood that no one will be coming back, adding the point of the venture is to have people there doing research, not making plans to come home. When it comes to growing plants, etc., she said there will be indoor hydroponic systems in place. Pods will be buried, and she said if they are able to dig a cavern big enough, they might be able to plant trees. Since they will be going to Mars in groups of four, it's important that the four are all able to get along with each other. Hindle said one of the people involved with the selection committee has also been in on choosing people to go to the International Space Station. “There hasn't been any fistfights,” she observed. She added there will six teams of four named, and they will spend eight years training as a group. “I think we'll know pretty early on if we don't like each other,' she commented, adding if one of the four quits, the team is out. One girl wondered if Hindle had the feeling that people are going to be making money watching her die. Hindle assured her that her goal is not to die, agreeing that she could die at any time, but doesn't let that worry her, and wouldn't like let it on Mars. “I don't think about dying on Earth all the time,” she remarked. Hindle added she hopes people would be inspired by the ingenuity and intelligence it takes to get them to Mars. The venture is not political, she added, pointing out there's been no decision on how the people on Mars are going to govern themselves or keep order. She said it will be interesting to se if democracy prevails. In terms of income, she said the 24 people who are named to the six teams will be paid while in training. There will be no point in paying them once they're on Mars, because there will be nothing to spend money on. Hindle said there are a couple of personal items she would take with her, if she gets the nod to go to Mars. They include a picture of her family that she can hold, a ring that was her mother's and tomato seeds (she'd want to know if they will grow there). Another thing would be a tea bag. “I think there will be one day when I really need a cup of tea,” she said. As well, she said she would take a razor. “I still want to be able to shave my legs,” she declared. One of the points Hindle stressed on the website is she has no dependents. She told the students she wouldn't being trying to get to Mars if she had children, or if her parents were still alive. But she might have the chance now, and she's very enthused about the possibility. “It's the teacher thing,” she remarked. “Very rarely do we have the opportunity to learn so much.” Hindle mentioned the Apollo moon missions, and the inventions that were part of the effort that are still around today. “If we can go to Mars, what things are we going to invent to make it happen?” she asked. Brandon Pachan had his Grade 7 and 8 class at Macville Public School pose for this selfie to be sent to Mars One hopeful Joanna Hindle, who spoke to the students on Skype Friday.Photo by Bill Rea --------------------------------------------------- Images: https://caledoncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/09-front-8.8-300x213.jpg https://caledoncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/09-mac-wave-5.5-254x300.jpg --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2015-03-04 15:06:21 Post date GMT: 2015-03-04 20:06:21 Post modified date: 2015-03-12 17:11:37 Post modified date GMT: 2015-03-12 21:11:37 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com