Applications Open For Astronauts Willing To Take A One-Way Trip To Mars
The main requirements are strong health, good people and survival skills, being 18 or older, and having a reasonable grasp of the English language.
The non-profit company, called “Mars One,” aims to land its first four astronauts in 2023 for a televised reality show that would follow the exploits of the first humans to attempt to establish a colony on Mars.
At a press conference in New York City, the company’s CEO Bas Lansdorp announced an open call for anyone to apply for the flight.
The mission will be one-way only, since there currently is no technology that would enable a return trip from Mars to Earth.
“Today, the Mars One foundation starts the search for Mars inhabitants. The search for people from all nations who want to settle on Mars,” he said. “Mars One is a non profit organisation that is working on landing the first crew on Mars in 2023 and another crew every two years after that.”
The goal is to establish a permanent human colony, he said.
The biggest obstacles, he said, are financial. The company has revealed some of its sponsors and hopes to gain more via media coverage. It’s not clear whether enough money will be collected in time.
There are also practical issues: Can the kinks in having a sustainable system for people to survive in such a harsh environment be worked out by 2023?
The Netherlands-based non-profit plans to send new missions thereafter every two years, with the second crew joining in 2025.
Each flight will carry two males and two females, but Lansdorp said Mars One was not requiring anyone to take fertility tests.
“These people will be living on Mars in a very small environment with just four people. It will be a dangerous environment and any prospective parent should always ask themselves is this the right time and place for me to have children,” he said. “These are responsible people that we are sending to Mars.”
A range of potential pitfalls might prevent the project from becoming a reality, including the inability to return to Earth, the small living quarters and the lack of food and water on Mars.
What do you think?
[Telegraph]
