More Than 78,000 Applicants Want To Be Among First Settlers Of Mars
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
An organization seeking to establish a human settlement on Mars announced on Tuesday that it has received over 78,000 applications.
Mars One announced that just two weeks into a 19-week application period it has seen a number of applications come in from over 120 countries, including the US, China, UK, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Argentina and India.
“With seventy-eight thousand applications in two weeks, this is turning out to be the most desired job in history. These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants,” Bas Lansdorp, Mars One Co-Founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Mars One is a mission representing all humanity and its true spirit will be justified only if people from the entire world are represented. I’m proud that this is exactly what we see happening.”
Mars One is asking every applicant to explain what their motivation is behind their decision to go to the Red Planet in a one minute video.
“Applicants we have received come from a very wide range of personalities, professions and ages. This is significant because what we are looking for is not restricted to a particular background. From Round 1 we will take forward the most committed, creative, resilient and motivated applicants,” said Dr. Norbert Kraft, Mars One Chief Medical Officer.
The organization will be accepting applications until August 31, 2013, closing the first round. Mars One said there will be a total of four rounds in the selection process, which will come to an end in 2015. It will choose 28 to 40 candidates, who will train for around seven years. Lastly, an audience will vote one of the groups into training to be the first group to begin humanity on Mars.
Mars One hopes to establish the permanent settlement on the Red Planet in 2023. Every two years after this, a new crew will arrive to replace the one that would be living there. The organization has already identified at least one potential supplier for parts and equipment for every component of the mission, including ILC Dover, MDA Corporation, Paragon Space Development, SpaceX, Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), and Thales Alenia Space.
“I believe that the endeavor holds great promise and Paragon is prepared to manufacture and integrate the Mars One life support, thermal control, and space suit systems,” Jane Poynter, President and Chairwoman at Paragon Space Development Corporation, said in a statement.
Anyone wishing to be among the first citizens of Mars still has a few months until the group stops accepting applications.
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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112841422/mars-settlement-project-78000-applicants-two-weeks-050813/
