Mission To Mars Finalist Is A Texas Native
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AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) - Two Texans made the cut for the Mars One Project. That's two out of the more than 200,000 people who applied.
Austin Native Sonia Van Meter applied for the Mars mission in 2013. At the time she was living in Austin, now she lives in Washington D.C. "Two years ago I signed up for this because I wanted to say, for a few brief moments, my name was on the list. Never in a million years did I dream I would make it to the final 100," Van Meter said.
She is one of 100 finalists. Now the questions is will she make it to the final 24? That's how many people the Mars One Project is selecting for the mission.
If chosen, her trip would be one-way. She would never be able to return to Earth. She would leave behind everything. Absolutely everything would be left right here on earth. She is not quite sure if she completely understands the "everything." However, with her family's support, she's 100 percent committed to seeing the mission through.
There are things she says she will miss, "Far and away the things that I will miss most are the people in my life, my husband, my family, my friends and i'm so fortunate and so blessed to have a community around me and supporting me in this."
As far as what's next in the selection process, Van Meter said she doesn't know.
The first Mars One mission is scheduled to depart in 2024.
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