Sunday, January 26, 2014

Jan Goes All Space On Me

Here are questions from a reporter and answers from Phill Sawyer:

How long have you and your wife been married?

We married the night of Dec 31, 1999 - depending on where you were in the world, that     was either in the 20th century or the 21st century. But 14 years either way.

What was the conversation like when she told you she was applying to Mars One -- how did it differ when you found out she was
one of the 1058?

Applying to do something interesting or provocatively different is not an exceptional event with Jan, so I wasn't really totally surprised to hear her explain how this could be part of a new adventure in her life. When she received word of having been chosen as one of the 1058, I was nevertheless completely amazed and - along with Jan - excited to know that this was indeed a serious proposal and that it was intended to actually take human life into the cosmos - and not machines alone, but my wife and her 3 new roommates.

Was it particularly out of character, or surprising of Jan, to apply for a mission to Mars?

Out of character would have been her dismissing the whole idea without having driven it around in her head and her imagination, and then moving forward to learn more.

And, like the news stories so commonly published on the subject, what will become of your relationship if she is
considered for space travel?

Our relationship will survive. I will be in my eighties when Jan's adventure begins. I may be already be out there by then, or perhaps far beyond.  But there is absolutely no doubt that we will both experience some thinking and some emotions that are new not only to us but to the whole of humanity. We're both going to try to make this part of our lifetime become a work of meaning and amazement.