It seems that we are one step closer to colonizing Mars – well, at least sort of.
The much debated, sometimes praised, sometimes controversy stricken Mars One project has narrowed down the search for Mars‘ first human colonists to a mere 100 people. Some of which will have the opportunity to make history and (perhaps) change the course of mankind forever.
In case you have no idea what I‘m talking about, Mars One is a dutch non-profit organization that is planning on sending four people to Mars to live there for the rest of their lives. And yes, that means that they will die there, too.
Surprisingly enough, more than 200 000 people applied for the “˜coveted‘ position, which opened for applications in 2013.
Since then, the number of people eligible to take part in the mission has been drummed down systematically after various psychological and physical tests, with the most recent cut being made after 660 potential Martians were interviewed by the organization‘s chief medical officer.
While the number of potential candidates currently stands at 100 (divided equally between men and women; 50 women and 50 men), it will soon be cut down even further to 24 people.
These 24 applicants will then be divided into six groups (or as they call them, “˜teams‘) of four and will undergo training which will then lead them to essentially compete in a competition-like situation to see which team would be best suited to represent humans on Mars.
The organization described the next part of the journey to the press:
“œThe following selection rounds will focus on composing teams that can endure all the hardships of a permanent settlement on Mars. The candidates will receive their first shot at training in the copy of the Mars Outpost on Earth and will demonstrate their suitability to perform well in a team.“
The entire operation will cost more than $6 billion. That is a helluva lot of money. So, in order to fund the trip to Mars, the organization has turned to the cash cow of the 21st century: reality television.
The battle of the remaining 24 will be televised in a reality series that will show follow the 6 teams as they train and compete against each other for a chance to go to Mars and never see their families again.
No date has been set as to when the Mars One reality show will air, but they have released a sort of trailer for the upcoming show which you can see below.
Mars One is set to take off for the Red Planet in 2024.
Source: New York Magazine
