/ 071Mars special
Endurance expeditionIn winter, temperatures can
reach -80°C. ‘The first time
I went out to take samples,
the ink in my pen froze,’
says Dr Healey. Above left:
supply planes arrive,
bringing with them the
fresh fruit and vegetables
so craved by the crew‘We had the same human behaviour
and performance training astronauts
have before they go into space’
GOING HOME
The transition back home was
difficult for Healey.’ When I first
arrived back in Christchurch,
New Zealand, I found the smells
overwhelming and it also felt really
humid, as though we were in the
tropics, because Antarctica is so
dry. I also realised how much I had
missed seeing plants and animals,
and it was even a shock to see
older people and children again.
My debit card and phone had been
cut off because I hadn’t used them
for 12 months, and I had to learn to
drive and cook again. You have to
completely readjust, in the same
way that you would if you came
back from space. I would definitely
go to Antarctica again though.
Above all, I learnt so much about
myself. I think I’ve shown that,
as a girl, you don’t need to cut your
hair off and become GI Jane to
follow your dream.’‘The food we ate was pretty good,
but everything was dried or tinned or
preserved, so I began to crave fresh
things, particularly mangoes and
avocados. I won’t ever touch Nutella
again, I ate so much of it.
‘Personal things become really
precious. We all wore the same polar
gear and I began to crave individuality.
I’ve never been a fan of wearing badges
and things, but I’d only been there a
short time before I started customising
my clothes. I suppose I was trying to
hang on to my individuality and keep my sense of self.
‘I missed my family and friends, of course, but we had
WhatsApp a lot of the time. It was actually easier when we
didn’t have good outside communication,
because then we had no idea what we were
missing. It could be hard seeing a picture of
my friends going out on a Saturday night
while I was stuck alone in my lab.
‘Oddly, it was small things I missed
most, like having a haircut or being
able to use proper shampoo, whichI couldn’t do because Concordia recycles
all its water (it is the prototype for the
ISS’s system). Weirdly, it was far more
claustrophobic going outside than it was
being inside, because you had to put on
so much polar gear, you didn’t get that
feeling of freedom and escape.
‘The main thing that’s changed for me
is my perspective, both on life back here
and on the potential for exploration.
Going to such a remote place is to act as
an envoy for humankind and to bring
back knowledge, and that excites me.
‘I think to travel to Mars you would have to be 100 per cent
committed to every element of the mission – from the long
space flight and international collaboration, to the research
and all the personal challenges of living in that environment.
As the year on Concordia went on, it became clear that the
people who were there because it was a well-paid job, rather
than because of a passion to go South, were finding the
experience much harder. It would be the same for space travel.
‘Given the chance, I would definitely go to the moon. And I
would consider doing a 500-day Mars mission, but I certainly
would not go on a one-way flight!’WhattssAAppppaamiss
myfrWords: Diana McAdam. Photographs: Beth Healey, Shutterstock, iStock