Rebecca Hayward

What motivated you most to participate in the Odysseus contest?

I found out about the Odysseus contest through the UK Space Agency, and decided that I wanted to get involved and share my ideas about human settlements in space, as it’s one of my main interests. I also thought it would be an interesting new experience where I would be able to meet like-minded people who share my passion for space.

What did you enjoy when you prepared your project?

I enjoyed preparing my project with a friend on our chosen topic, where we could come up with new ideas about how humans could survive on the planet Mars. This also meant that I could involve my other interests such as medicine in space, and space travel, which would be a big part of the planning process if humans were to go to Mars. Eleanor and I created a travel booklet, a video and a powerpoint to further explain our project. The travel booklet contained all the information that a space traveller would need if they were to settle on Mars, while the video looked at the physical and psychological effects that space travel would have on a space traveller.

What was the most important thing that you learned during the preparation of your project?

The most important thing I learned during the preparation of the project was checking the accuracy of our facts and figures, and also how helpful people within the industry are at helping us with our project.

Has the work done for your project affected your decision for studies in space science (or other)?

I really enjoyed the entire experience, so I would love to combine two of my interests by studying the many possibilities of space medicine and how it could help life in space, and life here on Earth.