Mars One Project Has More Than 1,000 Volunteers For A One-Way Trip To Mars

Posted By: JacobSloan Dec 10, 2012

The previously discussed Mars One project may not be the favorite in the race to devise a feasible plan for colonization of the Red Planet. But even assuming that most would not follow through, it’s astounding that so many people are so eager to get off of Earth. Via Yahoo! News UK:

The Mars One organisation has revealed details of its plans to land four astronauts on the Red Planet in 2023, with four additional ‘crew’ arriving every two years. The organisation said that it had had more than 1,000 volunteers for the mission, who emailed in via the foundation’s website.

Selection of the astronauts will begin next year, the Dutch organisation says. The trip to the planned ‘colony’ would be one-way – and the astronaut volunteers will live and die on Mars.

Mars One aims to finance a mission to Mars via donations from corporations, people – and by creating a reality show-style ‘media event’ around the training and selection of its astronauts. The Dutch company is backed by Nobel prize winning physicist, Gerard ‘t Hooft – and by Paul Romer, co-creator of Big Brother.

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  • Liam_McGonagle

    I would be more into it if the public got to nominate and vote on other people to go rather than just the option to volunteer themselves..

    • Anarchy Pony

      When they have to leave the Martian big brother house, will they be allowed to take a suit? Now that’s good television.

      • Liam_McGonagle

        Well, they could do it like this:

        Round one: After 1 week, hold an election for three vaguely defined executive officers, without spelling out their respective duties and perrogatives

        Round two: After, an additional 2 weeks, notify everyone that there are only n-3 # of space suits in the base (i.e., ‘n’ being the number of participants). Officers will meet to secretly draw lots for each of the next 3 weeks to select one of themselves to unilaterally designate participants for 1/3 of the available suits. Suit recipients will be notified separately and secretly of their selection, but no one will be told the identity of the officer in charge.

        Round three: In the course of the following weeks, let it be known that suit recipients who leak their reciept of the same to their fellow participants will forfeit the priviledge. As and when forfeits occurr, gather the participants into a central meeting hall to witness the physical destruction of the forfeited suits, and remind them that there are now 3+x (i.e., x being the cumulative number of forfeits) people who will not have a suit.

        Round four: Gradually ratchet up the angst by depressurizing modular sections of the living quarters, forcing the remaining facilities to accomodate even more cramped, frightened and frustrated participants and reinforcing the importance of winning a suit.

        Round five: Let the Carnage Begin.

        • kowalityjesus

          I honestly think the participants would need VERY little provocation to become bona-fide psychotic. Televising something like this is one giant step toward televising something like executions or live war battles. Very discouraging that the initial* program for humans on Mars is not a collective scientific endeavor, but a circus for the masses.

          *how many times have we clandestinely already been there, though?

  • EE Student

    If they didn’t use stupid fucking rocket technology, it wouldn’t need to be a one-way trip. Use one of the hundreds of anti-gravitational propulsion systems developed since the 1950’s. Then you might actually get some big interest in the subject. I mean come on! For one of my school projects I designed a little capsule that would move though space using only voltage gradients. It’s an experimentally proven concept and it cost me a total of $300. It just proves how unbelievably stupid our space programs are. I guess since the energy industry doesn’t want this technology released or talked about (so I’ve been told) we are stuck using rockets still. Errr the masses of people are so stupid if they think we still need to use rockets. Lets go to Mars, but let go using updated technology.

    • Liam_McGonagle

      You should post a Youtube video demonstrating it. I heard that’s how the ShamWow guy got started out. Where there is a vacuum, there lies opportunity. Turn your dreams of being a work at home mom into a cash generating reality.

      • Randel

        It’s to bad their concept is used in many of our military satellites. How do you think spy satellites change orbit without fuel? He would have no hope marketing classified technology. He might end up going the way of the Dodo if he tried.

    • Anarchy Pony

      0_o HOLY SHIT! IT’S A CONSPIRACY!

      • InfvoCuernos

        NO WAY! MY GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT LIE ABOUT THIS!!! WORLD SHAKING!!!

  • InfvoCuernos

    I’d go if they would promise a moratorium on X-Mas for the duration of my lifetime there.

  • BuzzCoastin

    > Mars One Project Has More Than 1,000 Volunteers For A One-Way Trip To Mars

    please say that it’s the US Government’s leaders are the 1000
    and I’ll die a happy camper