Well, not technically Mars… This morning, after getting back to my apartment following my race, I sat down and checked my e-mail to find a message from The Mars Society asking if I was still available for one of the crew rotations that I applied for way back when. Needless to say, I am very excited!
Honestly, I did not think that I would be accepted. I don’t have that much research experience when compared to even people I know, plus my research experience is scattered across basically four disciplines (Physics, Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry). Maybe that got me the job…? Anyway, I am very excited and just spent part of my morning telling a bunch of my friends and my family about it. About half of the responses thought that I was joking, probably because my message was “I’m going to Mars!” without really explaining anything.
So, I really need to save up my money this semester to help offset the costs. I’m also looking for donations, so feel free to contact me via e-mail if you want to lend twenty bucks. Don’t feel obligated to do so, since I understand how costly donations can be right now, so don’t worry at all if you can’t give money.
But to more serious matters, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing for the program! I applied to be a crew scientist in either Physics, Astronomy, or Biology, as well as the crew “journalist,” so I don’t know what’s on my plate for those two weeks in January (which unfortunately includes my birthday, but I’ll deal). In a weird turn of events, the author of Astronaut for Hire will be the crew commander. Pretty sweet, right?
Ok, with that excitement out of the way, I can include a condensed version of what I was planning on posting when I got back home. I came in 5th in my age group this morning at the first 5k I’ve ran in over a year with a time of 20:33. While the time isn’t that good, the worst part is that the third place finisher was only a few seconds ahead of me, meaning that I could have walked home with a medal. Anyway, it was a great race, especially with almost no training and an Ultimate Frisbee-induced injury on Friday that I’m still recovering from, so I’m happy.
Inside a Calculator 
Welcome to the crew! My background is kind of scattered in different disciplines as well; it can be a strength if you leverage it the right way.
And congrats on your 5K time. I too ran my first 5K in over a year last week. My time was 21:20, but since it was a small race that earned me 1st in my division.
Brian:
Glad to be aboard! I’ve been reading your blog since you’ve been up at FMARS, so I was pleasantly surprised when I both received the offer and found out you were commander! Nice job on your race as well. I’m trying to get back into my old cross country shape, so I have a string of races I’m training for.