PEORIA MAGAZINE December 2022

shelter,” said Kerrigan, citing frigidly cold temperatures and an atmosphere so thin that it would fail to shield humans from radiation. But humans have dreamed of visiting Mars since the 1700s. “Humans are explorers,” Kerrigan said. “We always want to chart new waters.” Kerrigan believes there’s pent up demand when it comes to space exploration, recalling that the Apollo program was curtailed after Apollo 17, the flight that featured the last moon walk in 1972. “There were supposed to be other flights up to Apollo 20 but thosemissions were canceled,” she said. “I love the robotic exploration we’ve done.Without it,wewouldn’t knowmuch about the outer planets,” addedKerrigan, referring to the Voyager space probes that were launched in the ‘70s. “But why not both? I think there’s also great value in human exploration,” she said, adding that human involvement also attracts public interest. TobuildadisplayonMars,Kerriganhad to find enough objects for an exhibition.

Among the items she came up with are full-size models (on loan from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory) of the first robotic rovers to explore a planet that’s about half the size of Earth. “There’s the rover called Opportunity that landed onMars in 2004. It was only supposed to last 90 days but wound up running for 14 years. They thought the batterywoulddiebutMartianwindsblew the dust off the solar panels,” she said. In the selection of images used in the show, Kerrigan perused hundreds of pictures. She also had to find a way to involve interactivity, those hands-on displays that museums have learned occupy young minds. That’s why you’ll find an augmented reality sandbox in the museum’s Mars exhibit with a topographic map of Mars. The planet is on full display. A centerpiece of the exhibit is the 10-foot illuminated spherical sculpture made by British artist Luke Jerram, whose handiwork has been displayed at the museumbefore, in the formof theMoon sphere. TheMars artworkwas sponsored

by Sheldon Schafer, the planetarium’s director who retired in 2013. “Hetaughtmehowtowork inamuseum,” saidKerrigan, whoalso includedadisplay on fictional works involving the planet such as “Mars Attacks,” the Tim Burton movie, and thoseof EdgarRiceBurroughs, the creator of Tarzan who also wrote 10 books featuring John Carter of Mars. Kerrigan credits a museum team that includes Zac Zetterberg and Ben Panfil for helping set up the Martian exhibit. Ultimately, Kerrigan is a believer when it comes to colonizing Mars. She echoes the words of SpaceX founder (and Twitter owner) Elon Musk: “It’s important for the survival of the species to have humanity on two planets.” Steve Tarter is a Peoria Magazine contributor who was born in England, raised in Boston, moved to Peoria to attend Bradley University and decided

to stay. He has spent a career in journalism and public relations

DECEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 25