To promote interest in exploring the Red Planet and learn more about what would make a successful mission, the private Mars Society each summer sends volunteers who pay their own way to the uninhabited Devon Island, 900 miles from the North Pole. NASA also sends scientists to the rugged island, which comes as close to duplicating conditions on frigid Mars as Earth can offer. Louise Wynn was part of a seven-member international crew of four Americans, a Canadian, a Pole and an Australian.
July 28th, 2004
Mars fan settles for far North The Columbian
A Camas, Washington woman will spend four weeks in the Canadian Arctic simulating a mission to Mars. It’s the best that earthlings can do for now. “I was raised with the whole moon-exploration thing, and since I was a kid I wanted to go to Mars,” said Louise Wynn, 56. “I can’t go to Mars in my lifetime, but I can do this.” An international crew comprised of Wynn and six other volunteers will stay from early July to early August at the Mars Society’s research station on Devon Island, a large and an uninhabited island.
April 13th, 2004
Teacher’s dreams soar with NASA nod The Columbian
Astronomy teacher Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger usually gives assignments, but on Monday she got one. The Hudson’s Bay High School teacher was notified that she has been selected by NASA to be an educator astronaut. The position is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Monday it could not confirm that she had been selected. NASA will publicly announce its next astronaut class on May 6.