Taranjeet Singh Bhatia grew up in India, looking up into space and dreaming of becoming an astronaut.
The only problem is that, in India, it’s hard to follow those dreams. So in 2011, he came to America, where he submitted his application to be an explorer of deep space.
He now is one step closer to becoming an astronaut, he may even be one of the first Earthlings to eventually become a Martian. For the time being, however, he sits calmly on Earth, talking about death on Mars just as casually as he talks about the best Indian food in Orlando (which he said is Moghul Indian Cuisine off University Boulevard).
“You’re going to live there, you’re going to die there,” Bhatia said.
The deeply religious Bhatia, a native of India and current computer science doctoral student at UCF, recently applied to be a part of the Mars One space mission. Mars One is an organization that plans on sending four humans to Mars in 2023. The only catch for these four astronauts: there would be no coming back.
Bhatia has accepted this fact, and if chosen, is ready to live with it. It doesn’t bother him as much as it would many people, he sees it as similar to life on Earth.
“Change is inevitable,” he said. “You enjoy things, and then you give up those things.”
Bhatia also sees the journey as a parallel to other excursions humans have take throughout history.
“Like the European settlements, how many people survived? Very few,” Bhatia said. “But now there are many people and settlements on [North and South America] and they now belong on that continent.”
“The same thing we are trying to get to happen on Mars,” he said.
Ahmed Hamed, Bhatia’s roommate and a UCF water resource engineering graduate student, doesn’t see why he would want to go.
“It’s really shocking that any human would be considering it,” Hamed said.
However, he does say that if people are to travel to the Red Planet, Bhatia would be a good fit.
“I can easily imagine him being OK on Mars,” Hamed said.
Mars One is a privately funded organization, and so far they have only been raising money through donations and the $38 application fee that each of the 200,000 hopeful astronauts had to pay. A more unconventional way that they are planning of funding the trip is by making it into a reality television show.
The show will begin before the astronauts leave, including the end of the selection process, and will continue once the team has landed on Mars, broadcasting 24/7/365. Bhatia thinks that the project being in the public eye is a good thing.
“Its a good feeling for humanity,” he said. “To go out of earth, go beyond the Moon.”
Devina Dave, a former teammate of Bhatia’s on the Nakhra Knights dancing team, thinks he would work perfect on a reality show showcasing humans from across the globe. She relates it to when they were together on the dancing team.
“He’s like the pillar that keeps everyone together,” she said. “He would be the one to make peace.”
While academic success is not the only thing that the Mars One team is looking for when choosing applicants, it seems that what Bhatia has already achieved will likely help him. He already has a Master’s Degree in computer science, and is working on his doctoral degree. He has contributed to several papers on robotics and artificial intelligence.
Bhatia is a teacher’s assistant for Dr. Edwin Nassif, a UCF computer science professor. Nassif sees a direct correlation between what Bhatia is studying and being on a space mission.
“Computers are pervasive, we don’t do things without computers,” he said.
Nassif also formerly worked for Lockheed Martin, an aerospace and advanced technology company, and so is directly aware of how having expertise in computers would be helpful on a spacecraft.
“Having insight on what computers can do and how they function can be a real advantage,” Nassif said.
One thing that the team at Mars One will be looking for is people who are open mindedand can adapt culturally, because it is likely that the four people chosen to become the first Martians are from four separate countries. This is another area that Bhatia appears to stand out.
He was born in India, and moved to the United States in 2011. He now has several American friends, and is the chairperson of the Indian Student Organization at UCF. He also helps to make the transition easier for Indian students coming to UCF, giving them tips on what helped him to adapt to life in America.
Mona Mathew, Bhatia’s roommate and a chemistry doctoral student at UCF is also is from India, and has seen him help several students with the change.
“He helps people a lot,” she said. “Whoever is coming for the first time to America, he helps with temporary accommodations.”
One of the biggest influences on Bhatia’s life has been his religion. He is a practicing Sikh, and to him, this would help him on the mission.
“[Sikhs] believes God is everywhere, in everyone,” he said.
His faith also helps him deal with leaving his loved ones on Earth.
“Only God is with you when you leave this world,” he said. “At some point we’re all going to die. Why do we cry over things we cannot change?”
Bhatia meditates a lot, sometimes for hours a day, to help himself experience God and calm his mind.
Hamed can attest to his roommate’s dedication to religion and meditation.
“I sometimes wake up at like four in the morning to get a drink of water and Taranjeet is meditating or praying,” Hamed said.
Whatever happens with his application, Bhatia is excited for the mission, he sees it as the next step in the advancement of humanity.
“It’s kind of the human desire to go to new places.” Bhatia said. “We started from one continent and expanded to other continents. We don’t have the feeling, right now, of humanity, we have the feeling of countries, why is that so? For example, when you are born in a city, you don’t feel close to your neighbors, but if you meet the same neighbor in a different city, you feel he is very close to you. The same happens when you are out of country.”
“This will happen on Mars,” he said.
By Colin Bell
