Ilaria Cinelli, 31 years old, is the head of an international mission in the Utah desert. This is a perfect environment resembling to the one of the “red planet” Mars, where the experts are getting ready to go.

Originally from Florence, Ilaria now lives in Ireland where she is studying for a PhD at the university of Galway. As reported by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, she got her bachelor in Pisa and then she continued with a master in bio-engineering and mechatronics. During her studies, she received a research scholarship in London, at the Aerospace Medical Association, a very prestigious body connected with Houston. Ilaria studies the behaviour of a human body in the space and surgery without gravity. This interesting topic of research pushed her to apply for the “Martian adventure” in the American desert. There, people behave as they were already on Mars: they eat astronauts food, constantly wear spacesuits and helmet.