Sailing Toward Mars: Courage, Curiosity & Conviction with Dr. Dianne McGrath

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Dr. Dianne McGrath — explorer, sustainability expert, and one of the final 100 Mars One astronaut candidates.

Dianne grew up in the wide open stretches of the Australian Outback, where curiosity was her first compass. That same spirit carried her from studying environmental engineering and food sustainability to applying for a one-way mission to Mars — and, just for good measure, sailing around the world in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

In their conversation, Joe and Dianne talk about what it means to grow up surrounded by vastness, the power of curiosity to guide a life, and what Mars One taught her about humanity’s limits and hopes. They also explore the strange, beautiful parallels between being alone in the middle of the ocean and being alone in space — where your closest neighbors might be the crew of the International Space Station passing silently overhead.

A huge thank you to Dianne for joining me today and sharing her incredible journey and perspective, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this mission—even when it involves talking about imaginary space monsters over dinner.