This Young Blonde Signed Up For A One-Way Trip To Mars Because Earth Is Overrated
Kane answered an open call for astronauts put out in April by Mars One, a company that says it will plant the first humans on Mars by 2023. There is no return flight.
The one-way mission doesn't scare Kane, who currently lives in Provo, Utah, a state that she correctly notes has a remarkable resemblance to the dusty red planet.
After watching Kane's endearing video application, we wanted to learn more about the spunky blonde and why she's looking forward to getting off this rock.
Read our interview with Kane below.
Business Insider: What do you do on Earth?
Kitty Kane: I am a hairstylist here on Earth. The prospect of going to Mars terrifies the small part of me that doesn't want to anyone to see my natural hair color. On the other hand, if I'm selected, everyone on the red planet will have great hair.
BI: Why is Earth no longer exciting to you?
KK: Earth is overrated. I have wanted to abandon it my entire life. In fact, there are a lot of really embarrassing drawings of Mars colony infrastructure in my childhood journals. (No, you can't see them).
BI: What do you know about Mars?
KK: Uh, the sky is butterscotch? How much does anyone really know about Mars? Our collective knowledge is still limited since the human race has yet to set foot there.
BI: What do you think the chances are this trip with happen?
KK: I'm not sure. I truly believe that rests in the hands of the producers. In order for Mars One to raise enough money, the public needs to care. Space travel today just isn't sexy, though. Half of the people watching NASA's rover footage are nut-job, conspiracy theorist YouTubers combing the landscape for rocks that kind of look like rats/dinosaurs/faces (if you squint).
BI: The mission launches in 2022. What if you have a family by then?
KK: If I am selected to be in the final 24-40, that is something I would delay in my life. If I am actually given the opportunity to colonize Mars, that is something that probably won't ever happen. I really want to be a mom, though. Sacrificing that dream will be the hardest part about this mission. I would be the mother of a new civilization, though.
BI: Have you told your parents/friends? What do they think of your one-way trip to Mars?
KK: My friends and family have actually been really supportive. In fact, my mother is more excited than I am. I can guarantee that she will plaster the link to this article all over Facebook.
BI: Let's say you run into some Martians. How do you plan on communicating?
KK: If I came in contact with native Martians, I wouldn't say anything. Music is a universal language, so I think I would just hold up a boombox À la Lloyd Dobler. The question I then have to ask myself is, what should I play? It has to be something that highlights the most important things about the human race. It has to be something that reveals both our benevolent heights and our unspeakable depravity. It has to be something that conveys our pursuit of freedom as well as our struggle to survive. It has to be something that illustrates how 6,000 years after we invented the wheel, we went to Space. So, probably T-Pain?
BI: What kind of people would you like to be sent to Mars with?
KK: Hotties. I'm going to be stuck with them for the rest of my life, after all. I'm kidding, but Mars One probably wouldn't have any trouble funding this mission if they produced a trashy reality show where good-looking people hang out in a hot tub. However, I'm hoping Mars One will launch an intelligent show in which trustworthy, capable people work together for the betterment of humanity … that is also insanely popular. Honestly, that would be a giant leap for mankind.
BI: How do you fit into the group?
KK: I'm a people person. Many of the applicants are science people or machine people or math people. Those types of people are great and absolutely necessary. However, due to the nature of this project, we also need people people. I'd like to think I can bring that to the table.
BI: In your application, you say you'd like to spend your time juggling and painting the landscape. I have to ask — how serious are you about this trip?
I had a lot of fun with my application video. I definitely don't regret that because I feel like I received a lot more attention than I would have if I had just talked to the camera in my bedroom about how I've always wanted to go to space blah blah blah. That's boring. I am serious about this, but I'm never going to be the type of person who takes everything seriously.