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" If you think of the Apollo capsule coming into Earth with a parachute, the Mars atmosphere is just so thin, you've got to find some way of slowing yourself down really rapidly. "
Ellen Stofan
Down
Yourself
You
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" We actually look to the scientific community to kind of come back to NASA and tell us what the priorities should be. And then at NASA, we try to look within our budget and say, 'What can we accommodate, and what are the most important things for the nation?' "
Ellen Stofan
Priorities
Look
Important
" We like to talk about pioneering Mars rather than just exploring Mars, because once we get to Mars, we will set up some sort of permanent presence. "
Ellen Stofan
Will
Exploring
Mars
" Mars was this water-based planet, and we know there was stable water on the surface for a long time, which is critical for life having a chance to develop. "
Ellen Stofan
Life
Know
Chance
" Water-based life is very much an Earth-centric view, and we can push the envelope on that here in our own solar system. We have the methane seas of Titan. "
Ellen Stofan
Own
Life
Solar
" If I had an unlimited budget, I would really be probing that question of life because we know what the questions are, and we know what the destinations are. "
Ellen Stofan
Question
Life
Know
" 'The Martian' may be fiction, but at NASA, we are working to make it a reality. "
Ellen Stofan
NASA
May
Fiction
" Instead of being able to look at smaller interesting research projects, I am trying to see the links between all the research NASA does. For me, that's extremely fun because I get to go play and learn about areas of science that I know nothing about. "
Ellen Stofan
Know
I Am
Fun
" To avoid congestion, I get up at 5:10, grab a slice of raisin toast, and leave the house at 6 A.M. My husband, Tim Dunn, who works for an environmental agency, is still asleep when I slip out, and I find that rather annoying. "
Ellen Stofan
House
Husband
Up
" I always like to say just think you were a doctor with only one patient. You might understand how that person gets sick, how they get better, but you understand nothing about the progression of disease or how humans in general get ill. Now take an Earth scientist: you only have one planet to study. "
Ellen Stofan
Think
Earth
Doctor
" It's part of the human character to want to know what's over the next hill, to want to know what's beyond. "
Ellen Stofan
Want
Hill
Human
" A lot of my role is advocacy, and as a scientist, you're an advocate, too, because you are coming up with a theory and having to convince your fellow scientists that you're right. "
Ellen Stofan
Because
Theory
You
" With the mission to Mars, the whole world wants to get involved. So we actually have 13 different space agencies from around the world working on the global exploration road map. "
Ellen Stofan
Mission
Exploration
Road
" There's a huge question of whether you really need water for life. "
Ellen Stofan
Water
You
Really
" We have to ask, 'How can we break a huge challenge like sending humans to Mars into a series of doable, affordable steps? How can we break that problem down into chunks in order to keep making progress?' "
Ellen Stofan
Down
Challenge
Problem
" Everybody has busy lives, but you can tell people, 'Go outside and look at the night sky. We've been able to demonstrate that every star you see probably has a planet around it.' "
Ellen Stofan
People
Look
You
" Humans can actually read a landscape, go through a lot of rocks - crack them open, throw them, pick up the next one. Rovers are great - they do amazing science - but it is a lot more tedious process; they go much less far than a human can cover in a day. "
Ellen Stofan
Day
Amazing
Great
" Communication is an issue where we can improve, and if I can do anything to help, I am happy to. "
Ellen Stofan
Communication
I Can
I Am
" I'm so biased to this issue of the origins of life and the limits of life. "
Ellen Stofan
Origins
Biased
Issue
" The public has an incredible capacity for appreciating the wonder of our planet, our solar system, our universe. "
Ellen Stofan
Universe
Wonder
Planet
" I grew up in this business... A lot of my life has been centered around this question about how NASA is helping us to understand our own home planet... and to understand our place in the universe. "
Ellen Stofan
Place
My Life
Life
" We're going to understand that there is life on other bodies in the solar system. "
Ellen Stofan
Going
Solar
System
" To unambiguously settle the questions of whether there was life on Mars, it will take scientists down on the surface. "
Ellen Stofan
Mars
Settle
Questions
" People see space as a place where you go and cooperate. "
Ellen Stofan
Space
People
Go
" We're not going to get humans to Mars until at least the mid-2030s, and the world is going to change by then. "
Ellen Stofan
Change
World
Then
" We want to make sure we get living astronauts to the surface of Mars. "
Ellen Stofan
Want
Mars
Living
" As we visit Mars multiple times, we will build up infrastructure on the surface to expand the capabilities and reach of humans on Mars. "
Ellen Stofan
Infrastructure
Build
Mars
" You see countries like India really investing in their space program because they see it as inspirational and good for their economy. "
Ellen Stofan
Space
Inspirational
India
" I'm actually a NASA brat. My father was a rocket scientist. He started working at NASA before it was NASA in 1959. "
Ellen Stofan
Rocket
Started
Working
" I wish someone would redo 'Dune.' "
Ellen Stofan
Would
Dune
Someone
" I live an hour from NASA's HQ in Washington, D.C., and sitting in a jam stresses me out. "
Ellen Stofan
Me
Washington
Sitting