Even if you try taking off to the moon, you will be welcomed by a cup of tea, served by a Malayali running a tea stall there, the joke goes. The joke might just turn real; only the territory in question is planet Mars instead of the moon.
Palakkad girl Shradha Prasad, the only candidate based in India to be selected by the Netherland-based mission Mars One, has made it to the list of 100, and if she gets through the fourth round of the upcoming astronaut selection process, she will be one of the 24 chosen 'humans' to get a one-way ticket to the red planet.
The 19-year-old had always stood out from the crowd; she is one of the only two girls in her mechanical engineering class at a Coimbatore college, a stream few girls opt for. So how did she find herself on a Mars Mission? "I had always been interested in everything related to space," says Shradha, who grew up in Mumbai and Palakkad. "I got to know about the Mars Mission through a newspaper article and found it very interesting. They were inviting online applications and I decided to give it a try," she says. Mars One is a not-for-profit foundation that will establish permanent human life on Mars, going with the concept that human settlement on Mars is possible today with existing technologies.
And did her parents know that she is applying? "Initially, they thought it was a scam and told me not to get involved. But I went ahead anyway. When I got shortlisted, they realised this was not a joke and got worried. But now that I am one of the 50 women and 50 men to be chosen for the final selection, they are happy and proud of me."
During the interviews the candidates were apparently asked to show their understanding of the risks involved, team spirit and their motivation to be part of this life changing expedition. The following selection rounds will focus on composing teams that can endure all the hardships of a permanent settlement on Mars. Will she accept it if she is chosen to be one of the final 24? "Definitely. It is not every day that you get such an opportunity to live in two planets in one life." But is she aware this is a one way ticket and there is no return to Mother Earth? "The leaving part is difficult and I'm not saying it is not scary and that I am extra brave. But I am training myself to accept it."
So how will it be to live in Mars? "We will be living under artificial conditions, in special units, it will be something else altogether," she signs off.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Shradha Prasad,Netherland,Moon,Mechanical engineering,Mars One
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