A Catalan commander on Mars

At just 25 years old, Mariona Badenas is about to embark on one of the most extraordinary journeys of her scientific career. Selected as commander of the Latam-III mission, Badenas and her six international crewmates will live for two weeks under conditions mimicking a human settlement on Mars. The mission will take place this May at the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert (USA), a unique habitat designed to simulate life on the Red Planet.

A Yale-educated astrophysicist and soon-to-be doctoral student at MIT, Mariona will lead experiments in astrophysics, observing solar activity and hunting for undetected asteroids and star clusters using solar and night-time telescopes. Other mission goals span engineering, space agriculture, and human factors, offering insights into how we might one day live on Mars.

Her crewmates include specialists in biomedicine, biology, and mechanics—alongside a dedicated mission journalist—underscoring that future Mars settlements will need more than scientists: they’ll need storytellers too. Each member will conduct focused research, including evaluating drones and rovers for planetary exploration, and testing microorganisms from extreme environments like Chernobyl for survival in Martian conditions.

Mariona’s GTD colleagues remember her fondly as “an excellent professional and an even better person.” Today, they proudly celebrate this new chapter in her journey toward the stars.

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