Canadian woman ‘giddy’ about possible one-way trip to Mars

EDMONTON -- In her Grade 8 yearbook, Christy Foley wrote that she wanted to be among the first humans to colonize the moon.

She never got the chance. Instead, she might go to Mars.

Im totally willing to miss the moon to go to Mars, the 32-year-old Edmontonian said Saturday. My friends are already calling me a Martian. I almost get giddy thinking about it.

Foley recently learned she is one of 1,028 people worldwide under consideration for the Mars One project, a non-profit, Dutch-based endeavour to establish a human colony on the red planet by 2024. Foley was hopeful when she first applied, but kept her expectations low.

At the end of December, she received an email telling her shed survived a massive cut of more than 200,000 hopeful, potential astronauts. My eyes flew open and I shrieked.

The excited Foley, one of 75 Canadians still in the running, hasnt slept much in the past week, but still has a long way to go. After the success of her application package, she must now undergo medical tests, psychological interviews and eventually physical challenges if she is to make the final cut. Just 24 people will be chosen. For Foley, a strategic planner for Environment and Sustainable Resources Development, the project is an opportunity to learn how to survive and thrive in a foreign environment.

It is also a chance for her childhood dreams to come true. Foley grew up watching the female crew members in Star Trek: The Next Generation television episodes and fondly remembers meeting Roberta Bondar, Canadas first female astronaut. Stories of her time in the Girl Guides of Canada and Pathfinders ended up in her application essay.

Her husband, a lawyer, also applied, but didnt make the cut. His rejection letter contained a story about a NASA astronaut who was rejected 15 times before he was accepted to the space agency.

The journey involves a one-way trip. Thats something Foley is prepared to accept.

Everyone dies on Earth, she said. Its boring. I would get to die on Mars. Wed probably live a lot longer on Mars than Earth, though. Its a much healthier environment and there are no cars to run over you.

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Canadian woman ‘giddy’ about possible one-way trip to Mars