Woman could be first to give birth on Mars

Having a baby is a strenuous enough task on Earth, now one woman hopes to do it on Mars.

24-year-old Maggie Lieu is currently in the running to be one of the 40 people chosen to colonize Mars and hopes to be the first to give birth on the Red Planet.

200,000 people applied in hopes of being chosen to participate in Mars One, a project aiming to put humans on the planet in the next ten years. That initial pool has shrunk down to 600, and includes Lieu.

From there, 40 people will be selected to take part in the $6 billion journey. Beginning in 2024, groups of four will depart Earth every two years on a one-way trip to Mars. Prior to take-off, ten years of training must occur, including learning about medicine, agriculture and plumbing.

Living on Mars has unique threats, including freezing temperatures, high levels of radiation, starvation, dehydration, and suffocation. Lieu is currently studying astrophysics, and understands it may be difficult to give birth in a low-gravity environment. She also knows reproducing is necessary in order to populate Mars.

Given all the challenges colonizing a new planet proposes, Lieu believes one of the biggest will be communication. It takes approximately three to 22 minutes to send a message to Earth.

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