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Video: Mission To Mars-Nonprofit Sifting Through Applications for Red Planet Colony
Frankie Barrett
The term “martian” will have an entirely new meaning in the year 2023, if a Netherlands-based nonprofit successfully completes its mission.
Mars One received more than 200,000 applications from people all over the world willing to leave Earth forever and be a part of the first human colony on the Red Planet. The largest percentage of applicants (24 percent) is from the United States, while India, China and Brazil combined for 21 percent of the rest, according to Wired News. Some applicants are even from remote villages of South America and Africa where only an iridium satellite phone could get reception. Mars One says it will screen every application before the end of 2013. This will be the first round of vetting that applicants must pass if they ultimately want to be part of the final 10 teams of four people who will call Mars home in less than a decade.
Who Will Qualify
It will take a special type of human not only to survive the seven month, 40 million mile journey (when Mars is closest to Earth in its orbit), but also to survive as part of the first group of four to arrive. The people who exhibit resilience, adaptability, curiosity, trust and resourcefulness will be among those who survive the first cuts, according to the Mars One website. These characteristics are important because once on Mars, there will be no way for the individuals to return to Earth.
Those who make the second round will be at least 18 years of age, disease-free, not addicted to any drugs, in good physical shape and have a healthy blood pressure. Though English will be the “official language” of the Martian colony, applicants only need to have a working knowledge of the language to apply. The conditions the first crew will encounter will be completely unpredictable, so only the best of the best will be included on the first trip. Another group of four will fly to Mars every two years thereafter. Those who qualify for the second round will be notified in early 2014.
Television Funding and Voting
Bas Landsdorp, Mars One’s co-founder, said the project will be funded by television deals promoting the “biggest media event” in world history. The entire project has an estimated cost of $6 billion, according to the Space Exploration Network. Mars One is planning an American Idol-like reality show which viewers can vote for the candidates they feel are best suited for the trip…or candidates they just personally like.
What The New Martians Can Expect
Mars One will send a robotic exploration mission to Mars in 2016, to make all the initial determinations as far as conditions. A rover will then be sent up in 2018, to scout the terrain and select the exact location where the settlement will be built. Building materials, life support apparatuses and more rovers will be sent in 2020, to build the actual structures the humans will live in.
The organization says it has already secured most of the supplies it needs from several major aerospace outfit across the globe. Only private funds will be accepted for the project, so no political or government influences are part of it.
For those who missed the deadline to apply or were too young during the first round of applications, don’t fret. Mars One says it will hold regular recruiting programs for the next several years in their search for the right people.
Source: http://truthisscary.com/2013/11/video-mission-to-mars-nonprofit-sifting-through-applications-for-red-planet-colony/
