As a child, theoretical physicist Dr. Adriana Marais has always wanted to live on a different planet. The opportunity for a one-way ticket to live on Mars presented itself when she picked up a newspaper and saw a call for volunteers to participate in the Mars One project.
Africa needs to define its own path when it comes to the fourth industrial revolution and look at what technology is appropriate for its societies, according to aspiring Martian and Head of Innovation at software manufacturer SAP Africa Adriana Marais, who is the headline speaker at the South African Technology Network (SATN) international conference later this year.
Over the past few hundred thousand years, a new species has emerged – one that is rapidly and inexhaustibly producing huge volumes of data of their own: humans, says Adriana Marais, head of innovation at SAP Africa.
Mars One, a private company, has devised an ambitious plan to establish a human settlement on Mars and generate attractive returns for investors backing the mission. Mars One aims to land the first crew on the Red Planet in 2032. Prior to that, it plans to launch several missions to Mars, some of which will see a rover being sent to select a settlement location as well as cargo and another rover being sent to prepare an outpost for human habitation.
One of Mzansi’s doctors has been selected to go on a one-way trip to Planet Mars.
Dr Adriana Marais is one of six African candidates set to join the Netherlands’ “One Mars” program that wants to establish a colony on Mars. Speaking on a radio interview with Power FM, she had said that she’d dreamt of going to Mars.
Some would call Dr Adriana Marais crazy for wanting to be part of what could be a one-way trip to Mars but she believes it is worth the sacrifice.