Mars One Project Attracts More Than 100,000 Applicants for One-Way Ticket to Red Planet (VIDEOS)
People who are still undecided if they want to join the Mars One Project should perhaps drop the idea, unless a spacecraft large enough to accommodate so many people has been invented.
In case you are still persistent then fall in line because there are about 100,000 applicants ahead, according to the organisers of the prospective mission to the Red Planet.
Only 40 civilian astronauts are supposed to be selected in 2013 of which only four would be send on the one-way trip to Mars in 2022. Then another batch of four people is expected to follow after a few years.
In the meantime, those selected are required to undergo eight years of training to learn medical and survival skills.
Despite the question by experts of the financial and practical viability of the Mars One venture organised by a private group based in The Netherlands, many people sign up in large number, including at least 30,000 Americans. The venture is expected to cost $6 billion.
To select the future Mars colonist, they must win in a reality show that the project organiser will sell sponsorship and airing rights.
For those who still want to apply, the cost of an application varies, but in the U.S. it is $38, which is an amount the Mars One Chief Executive Bas Lansdorp described as high enough for applicants to really think before filing an application and low enough for anyone to afford it.
He explained that it is based on the gross domestic product per capita of each country.
Application is still open for anyone aged 18 and above. Mr Lansdopr disclosed that there are still many people working on their profile, have decided not to pay yet the application fee or are still crafting their video or answer the questionnaires on their CVs.
"So the people that you can see online are only the ones that have finished and who have set their profiles as public," he added.
Mr Landsorp said that every Mars One landing will bring with it 5,511 pounds of useful load that would total to 44,000 pounds at the end of eight missions. Along with the capsules are food and solar panels. For water, they will filter it out from the soil of the Red Planet.
