Heard any good jokes lately?

A long flight to
Mars could use a few
By Ian Sample, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.15.19
Word Count 681
Level 770L

Image 1. An artist's concept of Phoenix landing on Mars. Photo from NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Space trips can be scary. Having someone on the crew who makes everyone laugh can be
important. The first trip to Mars might need someone funny.

Scientists have studied it and they found that the success of a flight to Mars might depend on
having a class clown.

Studies show that a funny person can unite teams in hard times.

Jeffrey Johnson is a scientist at the University of Florida. "These are people that have the ability to
pull everyone together," he said.

Trying Not To Get On Each Other's Nerves

Astronauts live in small spaces with other people. They would have to exist in a tight space for a
long time to go to Mars. That can make people feel nervous, Johnson said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

It is important to have someone who can help everyone get along and get back to Earth safely, he
said.

Johnson spent four years studying crews in Antarctica. He saw that people who were clowns,
leaders, buddies and others were important for teams. He found the same mixes worked for teams
from the United States, Russia, China and other countries.

If you have the right mix, the group does very well, he said. If you do not, the group does very
badly, Johnson said.

Settling In For A Long Space Flight

NASA is the U.S. space agency. It is planning a trip to Mars with a crew as early as 2033. The
Russian and Chinese space agencies have proposed trips starting in 2040. Private companies such
as SpaceX also want to take people to the planet.

A trip to Mars is not easy, however. The Red Planet is about 140 million miles from Earth.
Sometimes the two planets are closer to each other. Sometimes they are farther apart, depending
on their paths around the sun.

It takes about eight months to go from Earth to Mars.

The distance is expected to be hard on people in the
crew. It also will be difficult for astronauts to talk to
people back on Earth. They will have to wait on a
delay to hear back from NASA. If there is an
emergency, the crew will have to figure it out by
themselves.

A Little Laughter Can't Hurt

Johnson is working with NASA to see if clowns and

other characters are important for long space trips. He has watched four groups of astronauts who
spent 30 to 60 days in the Human Exploration Research Analog. It is set up to be like space. It is in
Houston, Texas.

Johnson spoke at a science meeting in Washington, D.C. He said NASA wants to see if people in
groups act similarly in places like space. So far, it looks like they do, he said.

He also has studied fishers in Alaska. He has found that clowns were willing to be part of jokes and
pranks. In Antarctica, one funny person was important for joining scientists and other groups
together.

Helping To Keep Stress Low

Roald Amundsen was an explorer. He saw the need for someone to act like a clown, Johnson said.
In 1910, Amundsen picked a jolly cook, Adolf Lindstrøm, for his trip to the South Pole. He knew
that Lindstrøm's fun outlook would help with homesickness and the long cold nights. Amundsen
wrote in his diary that Lindstrøm had provided more valuable services to the trip than anyone else.

Johnson said people on the trip viewed Lindstrøm as a great entertainer who lifted spirits over the
long winter. He joined people together.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

One other polar trip was very different, Johnson said. He was talking about British explorer
Robert Falcon Scott. The explorer died with his crew on a trip to the South Pole. The crew did not
work as a team, Johnson said.

As Lindstrøm showed, there is more to the job than making people laugh. "Being funny won't be
enough to land somebody the job," Johnson said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Quiz

1 People often form groups to complete work.

What would most likely happen to a group of people that was made entirely of clowns?

(A) They would be less nervous and get a lot of work done.

(B) They would laugh a lot and have strong leadership skills.

(C) They would be worried and able to only complete simple tasks.

(D) They would joke with each other, but would not work well together.

2 Select the sentence that summarizes the article.

(A) Jeffrey Johnson studied fishermen in Alaska in order to find out if making jokes and pranks made people
feel like a team.

(B) NASA is planning a trip to Mars with a crew in 2033, but Russian and Chinese space agencies also aim
for trips starting in 2040.

(C) Roald Amundsen was glad that he picked a jolly cook when he was making plans for his trip to the
South Pole in 1910.

(D) Scientists suggest including a funny person on the trip to Mars as they have been shown to help groups
work together.

3 How did Roald Amundsen's trip to Antarctica show the importance of team roles?

(A) Roald made sure to choose a large team to survive the harsh conditions.

(B) There were many leaders on his trip so decisions could be made swiftly.

(C) The cook was a fun man with a good outlook and was able to keep everyone happy.

(D) Roald hired people who had been to Antarctica before to make sure they arrived safely.

4 Read the paragraph below.

Johnson spent four years studying crews in Antarctica. He saw that people who were clowns,
leaders, buddies and others were important for teams. He found the same mixes worked for
teams from the United States, Russia, China and other countries.

How does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It explains what countries are planning trips to Mars.

(B) It explains what kinds of people are needed to work together.

(C) It describes what Johnson was working on in Antarctica.

(D) It describes what ideas most people think are the funniest.

5 A diagram showing the different types of group members includes clowns.

Why does this diagram include a clown?

(A) They are important leaders who can help run things.

(B) They know a lot about science and can do many jobs.

(C) They are able to think quicker than most other people.

(D) They can work well with others and make people laugh.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

6 Read the paragraph in the section "Settling In For A Long Space Flight."

It takes about eight months to go from Earth to Mars. The distance is expected to be hard on
people in the crew. It also will be difficult for astronauts to talk to people back on Earth. They will
have to wait on a delay to hear back from NASA. If there is an emergency, the crew will have to
figure it out by themselves.

What does this paragraph do in this section?

(A) It introduces a solution that will help astronauts on Mars.

(B) It introduces a comparison between Mars and Earth.

(C) It explains problems astronauts will face on the way to Mars.

(D) It explains the effects of funny people during difficult situations.

7 An illustration shows a colony of people on Mars trying to communicate an emergency message to people on Earth.

What problem would this colony need to overcome when communicating this message?

(A) The message may be too long to send to Earth.

(B) The message may get sent to the wrong planet.

(C) They may have to wait for the message to be received.

(D) They might not understand the languages of people on Earth.

8 What is the structure of the section "Helping To Keep Stress Low"?

(A) events in order

(B) problem and solution

(C) cause and effect

(D) compare and contrast

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Answer Key

1 People often form groups to complete work.

What would most likely happen to a group of people that was made entirely of clowns?

(A) They would be less nervous and get a lot of work done.

(B) They would laugh a lot and have strong leadership skills.

(C) They would be worried and able to only complete simple tasks.

(D) They would joke with each other, but would not work well together.

2 Select the sentence that summarizes the article.

(A) Jeffrey Johnson studied fishermen in Alaska in order to find out if making jokes and pranks made people
feel like a team.

(B) NASA is planning a trip to Mars with a crew in 2033, but Russian and Chinese space agencies also aim
for trips starting in 2040.

(C) Roald Amundsen was glad that he picked a jolly cook when he was making plans for his trip to the
South Pole in 1910.

(D) Scientists suggest including a funny person on the trip to Mars as they have been shown to help
groups work together.

3 How did Roald Amundsen's trip to Antarctica show the importance of team roles?

(A) Roald made sure to choose a large team to survive the harsh conditions.

(B) There were many leaders on his trip so decisions could be made swiftly.

(C) The cook was a fun man with a good outlook and was able to keep everyone happy.

(D) Roald hired people who had been to Antarctica before to make sure they arrived safely.

4 Read the paragraph below.

Johnson spent four years studying crews in Antarctica. He saw that people who were clowns,
leaders, buddies and others were important for teams. He found the same mixes worked for
teams from the United States, Russia, China and other countries.

How does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It explains what countries are planning trips to Mars.

(B) It explains what kinds of people are needed to work together.

(C) It describes what Johnson was working on in Antarctica.

(D) It describes what ideas most people think are the funniest.

5 A diagram showing the different types of group members includes clowns.

Why does this diagram include a clown?

(A) They are important leaders who can help run things.

(B) They know a lot about science and can do many jobs.

(C) They are able to think quicker than most other people.

(D) They can work well with others and make people laugh.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

6 Read the paragraph in the section "Settling In For A Long Space Flight."

It takes about eight months to go from Earth to Mars. The distance is expected to be hard on
people in the crew. It also will be difficult for astronauts to talk to people back on Earth. They will
have to wait on a delay to hear back from NASA. If there is an emergency, the crew will have to
figure it out by themselves.

What does this paragraph do in this section?

(A) It introduces a solution that will help astronauts on Mars.

(B) It introduces a comparison between Mars and Earth.

(C) It explains problems astronauts will face on the way to Mars.

(D) It explains the effects of funny people during difficult situations.

7 An illustration shows a colony of people on Mars trying to communicate an emergency message to people on Earth.

What problem would this colony need to overcome when communicating this message?

(A) The message may be too long to send to Earth.

(B) The message may get sent to the wrong planet.

(C) They may have to wait for the message to be received.

(D) They might not understand the languages of people on Earth.

8 What is the structure of the section "Helping To Keep Stress Low"?

(A) events in order

(B) problem and solution

(C) cause and effect

(D) compare and contrast

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.