MEXICO: Laura Smith-Velazquez is a dreamer — and she has been dreaming of going to space since the first time she looked into a telescope as an 8-year-old, later imagining herself commanding a starship while watching Star Trek.Every year she tries for a shot at NASA’s astronaut program, with no luck.
But now, the 38-year-old engineer’s chances of getting to space may have improved — the Maryland, USA resident is one of 100 semi-finalists named last month by Dutch organisation Mars One for a mission to establish a permanent colony on Mars by 2025. She said she is prepared to leave behind her husband of three years, who also applied for the one-way mission but didn’t make the first cut.
