Take me to Mars

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While her playground companions dreamed of castles, unicorns, and lifting sports trophies, little Natalia had only one obsession: space. So no one was surprised when she later decided to study superior telecommunications engineering at Alfonso X El Sabio University, nor when she graduated first in her class in 2010. She completed her final year of studies at the École Polytechnique de Montreal, where she specialized in space technologies.

An unstoppable career From there, everything quickly chained together: distance studies in astronomy and planetary science at the British Open University, an internship program at the European Space Agency and, finally, "la Caixa" scholarship to study a master's degree in aerospace engineering at McGill University, in Montreal: "I was truly fortunate to have received the "la Caixa" scholarship: not only did it allow me to complete my master's in Canada, but it opened numerous doors for me and contributed to achieving my dream of working in the space sector."

Already settled in Montreal, Natalia was selected as one of twelve students from around the world to participate in the NASA Ames Academy for Space Exploration program in California and, among other merits, she was recently included in the prestigious "35 under 35" list by the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC), which recognizes the best young talents in the space sector worldwide. Currently, Natalia works as a senior consultant at Euroconsult, a prestigious international consulting firm specializing in the space sector.

Traveling to Mars without leaving Earth Her merits have now earned her the appointment as commander of the simulated mission to Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station, where eight people lived together for two weeks, in isolation, carrying out various research projects and extravehicular activities using simulated space suits. "One of the most important points of our mission focused on our leadership capacity, group dynamics, and teamwork: identifying the best practices for leading a crew, what skills and qualities a commander and an executive officer should have, what factors and aspects are important for group work in this type of mission, etc.".

In addition to leadership studies, the main purpose of the mission revolved, among other things, around the tasks that will have to be carried out when we go to Mars: "We carried out a project related to plant cultivation and food production. We took different soil samples in the desert, treated them, and tried to grow plants. The idea is that, in the future, when we go to Mars, we will have to use the existing resources on the planet." The Utah desert was chosen precisely for its geological resemblance to Mars, thus allowing for sufficiently enriching results for the research being carried out.

One of the unknowns regarding a hypothetical human settlement on the red planet is how to live in such isolated conditions and how to address the issue of security. Psychologically, it is an experience practically impossible to recreate, but there is no doubt that mental strength and leadership capacity will be indispensable conditions to carry out a mission of this caliber.

"As commander, I was responsible for the crew, their safety, the planning and coordination of daily operations, and ensuring that mission objectives were achieved. During the mission, one has to get used to operating with limited resources, such as water (we couldn't shower for two weeks), but the truth is it was a great experience. We worked hard, but at the same time, we knew how to enjoy and have a good time."

Will there be life on Mars? So is the dream of establishing a colony on Mars closer? "Sending manned missions to Mars is the long-term goal for space agencies and also some private companies. But there is still time for that. There are numerous challenges that we need to understand in greater detail and technological developments that need to occur. With respect to current global plans, the goal is to develop a sustainable presence around and on the Moon in the next decade as an intermediate step to future manned missions to Mars in the 2030s."

Photography: MDRS Crew 205-Maria Grulich Text: Raúl M. Torres

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