North & South – June 2019

ONCEUPONA TIME

Almostsixyearsago,JessePeach(left)wenttoNewYorkona whimtonursea brokenheart;

hesawtheaward-winningBroadwaymusicalOnce– basedona 2007indiemovieabouta

Dublinbusker– andsobeganhislongpursuittosecuretheNewZealandrights.“It’severything

youcouldhopetheatretobe:touching,simple,human,funnyandgoodhearted,”saysPeach,

whosenewproductionofthemusical,starringKiwisinger-songwriterLisaCrawley,opens

atAuckland’sWaterfrontTheatreon 27 June.TheformerTV3reporterhasstageda string

ofworksherebutis basedin London,whereheworksasa freelanceTVnewsproducerand

writertofinancehispassionforthetheatre(heseesuptofiveshowsa week).Peachthinks

audiencesherewillrespondtoOncejustaswarmlyashedid.“NewZealandershavea great

affinitywiththeIrish.They’reconnectedtotheirlandlikeus,andmusicsitsin theirhearts

and souls like it does ours. So this is our sort of show.” JOANNA WANE

AUCKLAND

NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 21

geology,mathsandengineering,andasks,‘Whatislifeinthe

universe?Aretherealiens?Andhowmightwefindthem?’”

MogoşanuwasbroughtupbyhermuminBucharest,afterher

pilotdadcrashedanddiedwhenshewasa baby.“Ifellforthe

starsagedsix,afterseeinga diagramofthesun’slifecycle.”She

startedstargazing,butincommunistRomania,a jobinspace

sciencewasunlikely.Instead,shegota horticultural-engineering

degreeanda master’sinenvironmentalmanagement.

In2003,shevisitedNewZealand– “becauseit hastheworld’s

bestnightsky;weseethecentreoftheMilkyWayandmore

stars,andhavelesslightpollution.I didn’twanttoleave.”

Shegotanothermaster’sdegree,ininternationalsecurity,and

since 2005 hasworkedonandoffatSpacePlace,initiallyasa

planetariumpresenterandlaterasvisitor-experiencemanager.

Shealsoworkedingovernmentbiosecurityfrom 2008 to2018.

Mogoşanuispartofnumerousspaceresearch,education

andadvocacyorganisations,includingtheMarsSociety’sNew

Zealandchapter(dedicatedtosettlingMars).Shesetupthe

KiwispaceFoundation,whichsuccessfullylobbiedfora New

Zealandspaceagency,andisexecutivedirectoroftheNew

ZealandAstrobiologyNetwork,whichconnectsexpertsfrom

differentdisciplineswithinacademicinstitutionsandagencies.

She’salsocreatedonlinemagazineMilky-Way.Kiwiabout

spacenews,plusthepodcastGalacticConversations.Oh,and

she’sdoneaninternshipatNasainplanetaryprotection.“I

consideredhowtokillanytraceofearthlifethatmaybeon

Rovers:vehiclestravellingacrossMars.”Now,shepairsNew

ZealandstudentswithscientistmentorsfromNasa.“Ihope

we’llbecomeaninterplanetaryspecies,”shesays.“Ina billion

years,thesunwillscorchtheearth,andI wantmyspeciesto

survive beyond that. That’s what I’m about.” SARAH LANG

H

aritina Mogoşanu callsherself Hari– and New

Zealand’s first Martian. In 2012, she led the

“KiwiMars”teamofsixwhospenta fortnightatthe

MarsDesertResearchStationinUtah.AtthetinyUS

basestation,workingandlivingconditionssimulate

thosehumansmightencounterinanartificialhabitatonthe

redplanet.Whentheteamconductedresearchoutside,ina

Mars-liketerrain,theyworespacesuits.

Mogoşanuknewtheprotocols.She’dbeentothestationthe

previousyearwiththeRomanianSpaceAgency,andhasnow

beenfourtimes.“It’saboutmakingeverymistakewecanon

EarthbeforehumansgotoMars,”shesays.Nationalandprivate

organisationsaretakingmajorstepstowardachievingthis.

“I'dlovetogo,butwouldn’tleavemy11-year-olddaughter.”

Herdayjob isthenewlycreated roleof SeniorScience

CommunicatoratSpacePlace,whichincludesinteractivegalleries

anda planetariumhousedinWellingtonBotanicGarden’sCarter

Observatory.SpecialeventsforMatarikiincludea dawnviewing

bytelescopefromMtVictoria(museumswellington.org.nz).

Mogoşanucomesupwithstrategiestomakespacesciencemore

accessibleandengaging,overseesthecontentcommunicatedby

otherstaff,leadsevents,talkstogroups,andvisitsschoolstorun

outreachprogrammes(someimitatingher“Marsmissions”).

She’sjustheldherfirst,sold-outstargazingcourseforbeginners.

“I’ma ‘staryteller’!”shesays.“Itdoesn’tfeellikework.”

Insidetheplanetarium’sdome,I watcha shortanimatedfilm,

WeAreAliens, aboutwhetherextraterrestriallifeformsexist.

Mogoşanuthinksit’shighlylikely,especiallywithastronomers

detectingmoreearth-likeplanetsoutsideoursolarsystemin

the“Goldilockszone”thatmaysustainlife.

“My thing is astrobiology, which combines biology, astronomy,

LIFE ON MARS

In June,NewZealandersturntheir eyestothe starsaswecelebrate

Matariki – butit’stheredplanetthatcaptivatesspace-sciencecommunicator

Haritina Mogoșanu as humanity’s stepping stone to the future.