You can be first person on Mars -- if you agree to not come back

[icarus]

Big Brother on Mars

A Dutch entrepreneur is on a mission to send a bold gang of explorers - aka reality show contestants - to Mars.

It's either one of the biggest hoaxes in history conjured up by a group of richly deluded young fantasists or a brave attempt to challenge the boundaries of space travel and beat Nasa and co at their own game.

The Mars One online statement explains that by using the $6bn (4.7bn euros; £3.8bn) generated through the biggest-ever television spectacle, the team will have enough knowledge and resources to set up a permanent colony on Mars.

[...]

Nasa is hoping to send a team to Mars by 2030. So how does a Dutch entrepreneur think he's going to beat the experts by approximately seven years?

"Well it's simple. We're not going to bring them back. This is a one-way ticket. They will spend the rest of their lives on Mars."

Mars One is expecting millions of applicants.

Personally I think it will never take off.

[pylon]

I would do this is a heartbeat.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by icarus

Big Brother on Mars

Personally I think it will never take off.

I did all the reading (I read/watched everything I could find) on this project last week. I think it is solid and has been thought out.

Although I don't believe it is, it certainly could be a hoax, I mean they are at the stage at the moment where there is nothing physical to show but it should become apparent within the next few years if they can actually do this.

The plan is as follows:

Mission in 2016 to test the lander and deliver the initial supplies that will be used by the first colonists in 2023.

Mission in 2018 to deliver a rover to Mars, further testing the lander. The rover will explore the site where the colony will be formed.

Mission in 2021 delivers a second rover, the remainder of the supplies and living units.

Mission in 2023 will carry the first 4 astronauts to Mars.

This will be followed with 4 additional astronauts every 2 years afterwards.

There is a ton more information on the website. I encourage people to check it out, I found it very interesting.

The idea is to make it the biggest media spectacle ever, for the entire world, by broadcasting pretty much everything including live broadcasting of everything that happens on Mars before and after the arrival of the astronauts. This also includes the selection process for the astronauts who will go. It is an interesting idea for financing such an endeavour.

http://mars-one.com/en/

[sa226]

This sure seems like the premise to some cheesy space movie I saw in the 90s.

"Game show sponsored by rich Dutch businessmen sends contestants to Mars!!!"

It seems like they are sincere about it.

Very interesting

[Nehkara]

I think it is important to note that although the astronauts who go will be chosen at the end by the public, it looks like they will only be giving people the choice between qualified people. They are looking for exceptional people with expertise in multiple fields (i.e. Emergency Medicine and Geology).

It will be very interesting to follow this whole thing.

I personally will be so thrilled if this happens. It could be the next big leap forward.

I can certainly say I will be watching.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

I think it is important to note that although the astronauts who go will be chosen at the end by the public, it looks like they will only be giving people the choice between qualified people. They are looking for exceptional people with expertise in multiple fields (i.e. Emergency Medicine and Geology).

It will be very interesting to follow this whole thing.

I personally will be so thrilled if this happens. It could be the next big leap forward.

I can certainly say I will be watching.

So what your saying is my years of dedicated service in Automobile Procurement and Distribution Sciences will not come in handy?

That rover aint gonna sell itself when they mile it out.

[Bigtime]

Heard about this a few weeks ago. First thing I thought of was in the book Red Mars that the original 100 colonists pretty much had the same thing happen to them, becoming celebrities back on Earth with people constantly watching their progress, conflicts, ideological groups set up, etc.

[Puppet Guy]

I'm sure I could come up with a long list of people I'd like to give a one-way ticket to Mars.

[oilyfan]

I just have a hard time believing all this can be done for $6B, didn't the Mars rover cost half a billion by itself? Now you have to design systems and deliver everything to Mars to support humans living there for 50 years or so. I think $50B is a more realistic cost.

[speede5]

If Hollywood has taught me anything it's that no good can come of this.

[nik-]

It would have been better if the rich Dutch guy's last name was Cohaagen.

[KTrain]

From what I've heard they have no shortage of people that want to go. The problem is getting qualified people that want to go.

[HPLovecraft]

I'd say the real problem is accomplishing even step one of their ambitious goal. I wouldn't be surprised, if they kept at it, which I don't think they will ($6B for this is foolhardy), if their first step wasn't even realized until close to 2020.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Instead of going, can I nominate someone?

[FlamesAddiction]

Serious question, but why not focus attention on underground or ocean colonization before Mars? We have a planet where the most inhabitable areas are quickly becoming over populated. It seems like a waste to put resources into going to Mars when we have a lot of issues that are more local and more pressing.

Maybe building a Mars colony is more feasible... I don't know. Why not build a massive biodome in the Gobi or the arctic first and use it as a giant food bank for starving Africans? $6 billion to go to Mars seems crazy.

(I know... if it's private money, they can do with it what they want, but I think it says a lot about us as a culture and a species)

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Serious question, but why not focus attention on underground or ocean colonization before Mars? We have a planet where the most inhabitable areas are quickly becoming over populated. It seems like a waste to put resources into going to Mars when we have a lot of issues that are more local and more pressing.

Maybe building a Mars colony is more feasible... I don't know. Why not build a massive biodome in the Gobi or the arctic first and use it as a giant food bank for starving Africans? $6 billion to go to Mars seems crazy.

(I know... if it's private money, they can do with it what they want, but I think it says a lot about us as a culture and a species)

We've got all our eggs in one basket being here on earth, I think any venture that helps get us off this rock and onto other ones is in the best interest of the species (from a survival standpoint).

[CaptainCrunch]

With no law enforcement and no martian constitution in place murder would be legal in every sense of the word. Social Justice would be defined by the guy who's willing to enforce it.

I'm in.

[Sopure]

I agree that six billion dollars probably isn't going to go a long way in putting a bunch of stuff on Mars. Given that the first human would be dropped in 2023-- that's 11 years from now. It would put me at 37.

I'd consider it if I was a professional with no family. Also, I would need my own private rover, and I'd need a Jersey Shore-style basement room where I could rant about the other astronauts to all the viewers back home on Earth.

[squiggs96]

I'm going to wait and see how hot the women are before I decide if I want to go or not.

[troutman]

Humans would face big challenges on Mars - it is very cold, IIRC gravity is 1/3 that of Earth, and radiation levels are extreme.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_mission_to_Mars

There are several key challenges that a human mission to Mars must overcome:

1. physical effects of exposure to high-energy cosmic rays and other ionizing radiation.[2][3]
2. physical effects of a prolonged low-gravity environment, including eyesight loss.[4][5][6]
3. physical effects of a prolonged low-light environment.
4. psychological effects of isolation from Earth.
5. psychological effects of lack of community due to lack of real-time connections with Earth.
6. social effects of several humans living under crowded conditions for over one Earth year.
7. inaccessibility of terrestrial medical facilities.