More than 200,000 has applied for a one-way trip to Mars. The company Mars One call for volunteer applicants to participate in a mission to land on Mars and then build a colony has resulted in a very good turn out, indeed.
Five months now passed since it was first announced, the private venture company has reached halfway toward its stated goal of 500,000 applicants. The Dutch nonprofit organization Mars One was founded in 2011 and has set its launch for Mars in 2022 and with a one year travel, the first colonists will touch down on Mars in 2023.
The selection process of the potential 500,000 applicants will proceed when application period is done. The company will then narrow down the number of applicants to only 24. Via a process of screenings, interviews, competitions, and tests – resulting in 20 to 40 finalists divided by regions.
The selection process will also be the start of a reality TV program that will follow the applicants from day one and continue throughout the mission to Mars, following the 24 colonists once landed and the colony has been established. We Earthlings will get to follow the Martians setting up and living in the (first) Martian colony.
This Reality TV program is an essential part of the funding model for the whole project. As Mars, One will sell the broadcasting rights to international TV stations.
It has been suggested that the viewers are to be allowed to vote on their respective regional finalists. With a committee choosing the rest of the finalists. Only four astronauts will travel in successive four-person crew missions over the course of many months.
So far, about a quarter of the applicants comes from the United States (47,654), 20,747 from India, 13,716 from China, 10,289 from Brazil, and 8,497 from Great Britain. If you want to read about the applicants, see the link below “applicants.mars-one.com”.
More in-depth mission details will most certainly emerge during the coming year as suppliers must be contracted. With technological solutions being developed to conform with the project objectives.
After all, to build a self-sustainable human colony on another planet is probably among the most difficult endeavors for humans to achieve.
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http://www.mars-one.com/
http://applicants.mars-one.com/
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