This week, Derek Pelland is going to Mars. Well, kind of.
The Manhattan Beach resident takes off Thursday for the cold, barren desert of southern Utah to help oversee the Mars Desert Research Station, which simulates the conditions on Mars.
While there, Pelland and the five other crew members will conduct research for future manned missions to the red planet.
Pelland said filling out the application for the program was “a shot in the dark.”