Today, humans are confined to living on just one planet – Earth. However, Winnipeg dentist Dr. Nirvani Umadat wants to change that.
"If we have the ability to go beyond this planet and make that a real thing for humanity, I think we should all embrace that and work towards it if we can."
Turning that vision from science fiction to science fact isn't going to be easy, but Dr. Umadat has already taken one small step.
Earlier this month, the dentist went to Florida for a NASA-affiliated program called Project Possum. It's a research and education course devoted to teaching scientist astronaut candidates about the field of Bio-Astronautics.
"That's a field of study that specifically focuses on human physiology and how space travel affects human physiology," said Dr. Umadat.
That includes simulating zero gravity and heavier gravitational pull.
"Four G hurts," recalled Umadat. "And zero g is phenomenal!"
The research has applications for current astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The goal is to one day help people venture beyond, and that could happen before we know it.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has announced plans to colonize Mars within our lifetime.
Umadat said she wouldn’t rule out joining the trip.
"Martian dentist is a pretty cool title, so if someone gave me a ticket to Mars, I would probably sign up."
Thanks to the research she, and many others, are contributing to, that job title could become a reality in the not too distant future.
