Sue Ann Pien (邊思恩) has dreamed of becoming an astronaut since childhood.
The 34-year-old American of Taiwanese descent now stands a good chance of realizing her dream, as she has passed the first stage of a selection process for a one-way ticket to Mars.
Pien is among 1,058 candidates selected by Mars One, a Dutch not-for-profit foundation that hopes to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.
More than 200,000 people from around the world applied to be the first humans to have a chance to live — and die — on the Red Planet.
The hopefuls are to be shortlisted into a group of 40 before training starts in 2018. Finally, 24 elite hopefuls would be sent to Mars to settle permanently in six batches by 2025.
Pien, from Erwin in southern California who works in the field of education, said she feels very lucky to have made it through the first round, which had a qualifying rate of lower than 1 percent.
Her parents, who come from Taiwan, both pursued aerospace careers. On learning of the Mars One project, Pien decided she also wanted to pursue a future involving outer space.
Pien said that she often attended aerospace camps as a child and said she has read many books on the subject.
“I know that the trip to Mars could be very dangerous, because it remains unknown whether humans can survive on the Red Planet,” Pien said.
However, she likened the scenario to the first journeys by Asian and European immigrants to the US.
Responding to suggestions of the Mars mission’s probable failure, she said many skeptics had also ridiculed Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas at the time.
“I have a strong curiosity about Mars and outer space and I believe in the feasibility of establishing a colony on Mars in the future,” Pien said.
Mars One offers only a one-way ticket because its goal is to establish a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet.
“My family fully supports my emigration plan,” Pien said, adding that she still has 10 years with her family, even if she manages to make the shortlist of candidates for the coveted space flight.
All of the selected 1,058 hopefuls are to undergo training and tests in the coming two years, starting with a series of interviews by experts in a variety of fields.
Pien said training is to focus on fostering teamwork, with the hopefuls forming four-member crews.
Pien said she is confident of being picked as a finalist.
“I can speak fluent Chinese, Spanish and English. This could be an advantage in the second stage of the competition, which stresses teamwork,” Pien explained.
On Mars, Pien said she plans to explore the source of life. As Mars is known to have water, it should also have living beings, she said.
“My mother has told me that if I win the chance of traveling to Mars, I should not forget to bring a Tatung rice cooker with me because I will need to eat rice,” Pien joked.
The Taiwan-made rice cooker has long been considered an iconic must-have for Taiwanese studying or living overseas.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS