Katy Quinn’s Devon Island Journal: July 1, 2001
Note: Text and photos republished from Katy Quinn’s FMARS page by permission of the author.
Sunday, July 1. Thoughts on leaving.
A few days ago a writer from the Discovery Channel sent all of us an
email asking us to answer some questions on our thoughts, expectations,
etc. Needless to say it’s been much on my mind lately, only a couple
of days before I head North. I seem to go on these big trips at
transition points in my life so they tend to accrue a bigger personal
impact. After I finished high school it was off to America, after
undergraduate it was off to Antarctica and New Zealand. Now I’m
finishing graduate school and it’s off to the Arctic. With any luck
after the next big change in my life I’ll be off to Mars! Oh well, a
girl can dream…
I’ve been asked if I’m worried about being “cooped up” in the Hab. I’m
honestly not worried about that. Firstly, the habitat seems quite large,
all things considered, and we do get our own little individual bunk rooms.
Bill Clancey has a
report on the SpaceRef: Mars on Earth website that shows the Hab layout.
We also have windows with some of the best views around, so no fear of
climbing the walls.
Secondly, we’ll be so busy and the time up there is so short that I don’t
think any of us will have a chance to fully explore each others’
idiosyncrasies. I’m looking forward to getting to know
everyone else on my crew rotation, they’re an accomplished and
interesting group.
So right now I’m packing and trying to finish as much thesis work as
possible before I leave. It’s 2 am here and I’m in my office typing
this out before I go home for some shut-eye. I’m anticipating
getting on the plane heading out of Boston, because then what’s done
will be done and it will have to be sufficient. Thanks to everyone
who’s been helping me lately, you know who you are.
On to Mars!
Copyright © 2001 Katy Quinn – All rights reserved. The text and images within
this web document may not be used or reproduced in any form or by any means,
or stored in a public database retrieval system, without prior written or
electronic permission of the author. Reproduced on SpaceRef with the permission of the author.
