Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity Menu Trinity Search



Interviews

Name: Joseph Roche
Degree/Masters: B.A. (2007) Ph.D. (2012)

Tell us about the Mars One project?
The Mars One Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that is aiming to put four humans on Mars in 2025. Subsequent missions will follow every two years until the colony grows to around 20 people. They hope to achieve this by using largely pre-existing technology and a radical new approach to space exploration. The most contentious aspect of the mission is that it is a one-way trip and the astronauts would be expected to live out their days on Mars. Another intriguing part of the business model is that it is to be part-financed by a reality TV show that would grant the public the opportunity to choose which astronauts they would like to send to Mars.

Why did you decide to apply?
Once I learned about the Mars One project I was always going to apply. In the same way that if there were any further calls from the European Space Agency for astronauts, I would apply straight away - these types of opportunities do not come along too often. I spent the past decade studying physics and astrophysics in Trinity College, doing a stint in the US at NASA, returning to the School of Physics to do my Ph.D. in astrophysics and then joining the Science Gallery as their research projects co-ordinator. Science is my passion and the idea of being the first interplanetary scientist is the stuff that dreams are made of.

If you are selected as one of the lucky "marstronauts" how will you spend your last night on earth?
Having a quiet night saying goodbye to those that are closest to me.

If you are chosen what, apart from your family and friends, do you think you'll miss most?
Nature. Some of my friends from home used to mockingly call me an "ecowarrior". I always felt that was an inaccurate nickname, as although I do care deeply for the environment, I do not do as much as I could to protect it. It probably comes from growing up in the countryside but I think I would really miss the blue skies and hearing the birds singing. Knowing that I could never again enjoy an autumnal stroll in the woods or experience the grass crunching beneath my feet on a frosty winter morning, I would miss that greatly.

It's likely that the final selection process, and eventual trip, will be the focus of what will surely be the most watched reality TV of all time. If you feature in that but are not ultimately chosen do you think it will be hard to re-adjust to life on earth?
To even make it that far and have the chance to go through astronaut training would be a remarkable experience. If, as is likely, I end up remaining on Earth, I would like to think I could happily return to leading a more normal life. Perhaps if I had disgraced myself on TV I might become more reclusive.

What is the most useful piece of advice you’ve ever received?
"Those who matter don’t mind, and those who do mind don’t matter". One of my parents said that to me when I was so young that I still cared what other people thought of me. It's a common expression and perhaps overused, but it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time and stayed with me ever since.

What are your Top 3 Desert Island, or in your case Red Planet, discs?
Top of my list would be From Mars to Sirius by Gojira. I adore this album and it would be perfect for a trip to Mars. It's a concept album about interstellar space travel but it also reminds us, in brutal fashion, why the Earth is worth fighting for and sometimes worth dying for.

The second album would be Master of Puppets by Metallica. They have been my favourite band since I was six years old, and I wouldn’t leave any planet without them. I could imagine that if things got bad on Mars I would listen to the track Orion and that would get me through.

The final album I would bring is Mastodon's Crack the Skye. I believe there are better Mastodon albums but this is the only one that deals loosely with the concepts of space travel, physics and facing oblivion. That could be ideal listening for the long cold nights on a desolate planet.

What is your favourite space movie?
Wall.E - In my eyes it's close to perfection.