A One Way Ticket To Mars

[dlevere]

By Chris Higgins

If you were offered a one-way trip to Mars, would you take it? That's what Mars One hopes to do, by sending crews of four people to Mars, starting in 2024. (They hope to fund the mission in part by making a reality TV show of the process.) Since the announcement of the program in 2013, more than 200,000 people have applied to go to Mars, permanently. In this somewhat moody documentary, we meet a few of those people, and get a sense of why they want to go—and what could make them stay.

[47iscool]

Just my opinion, but this is stupid. Who in their right mind would want to leave earth!? I guess the government(s) think there are too many people on earth and they figure this is the best way to get rid of them.

[dlevere]

I was talking to someone about 30 minutes ago about this, and they thought the same thing.

[Pyriel]

This is a private enterprise. If governments decide to thin the population, bullets and lethal chemicals can do the same work for pennies on the dollar.

[AsPika2219]

Visiting Mars was remind me.... TOTAL RECALL movie!

[dlevere]

100 applicants for one way mission to Mars, including 39 Americans

The Dutch-based Mars One foundation, which plans to send four people to Mars, announced it has narrowed down a pool of more than 200,000 applicants to just 100 candidates. The shortlist includes candidates from 35 countries.

BY Alejandro Alba and Jason Silverstein


Mars One plans to start colonizing Mars in the next decade and plans to record the process for a reality TV show. Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

If you had a one way ticket to Mars, would you take it?

These 100 aspiring astronauts would.

The Dutch foundation that's planning to colonize Mars—and make the process a reality TV show—said it's narrowed down a pool of more than 200,000 applicants to a shortlist of 100 potentially spacebound candidates.

The Mars One group is now considering 50 men and 50 women for four spots on its anticipated Red Planet mission, where winners get a one-way ticket to Mars and are expected to start colonizing it. The space start up will film the entire selection process, training and the colonization for earthling viewers.

A list of candidates and their bios is published on the Mars One website.

The soon to be astronauts will go to Mars in 2025 to establish a settlement. If all goes well, Mars One will keep sending groups of four people every two years to grow the colony and sustain life. The trip to Mars would be anywhere between 34,8 milliom milles and 250 million miles, all depending on how distant apart the planets are. It would take the astronauts about 39 days (closest approach) to 289 days (farthest approach).

The could-be Mars stars hail from nearly 35 countries, and the U.S., with 38 candidates (33 U.S. born), has the most amateur astronauts in the running. The American candidates include middle-aged engineers, Ph.D. candidates in their 30's and several contenders in their 20's. The ages of all the candidates range from 19 to 60.

The candidates from other parts of the world include: 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa and seven from Oceania.