Leave Your Life on Earth Behind and Start an Adventure on Mars!

Ingrida Kurlinkute,

Editor (Travel)

 

You always hear about out-of-this-world experiences or once-in-a-lifetime trips but they almost never mean it in reality. This time there is a journey which actually matches both adjectives literally. Start planning your mission to Red Planet! The not-for-profit foundation Mars One is in quest of brave individuals who would like to work, recreate and have fun on Mars for a 2023 mission. Sounds too good to be true? Well, there is a little blemish – a one-way ticket.  Over the next two years, they will be selecting the most suitable four candidates for the permanent settlement. Interested in colonizing Mars? You can definitely apply and take your chance but first let me give you some more details so that you know what it is all about.

Let’s start with finances. It has been estimated that the placement of the first four people on Mars would cost approximately six billion US dollars. The biggest funds will come from the media which will broadcast the journey from the very first preparations. The potential candidates must be prepared to be exposed for the public eye 24/7/365 for the rest of their lives, but that is the price you have to pay for being the first four human beings to touch the surface of Mars.

Would you like to support human landing on Mars? There are many different ways to do so. Probably the most simple thing is to show your interest for the mission on social networking sites and sharing it with your family and friends. The more people are interested in human settlement on Mars, the more companies are going to sponsor the mission. Moreover, you can discuss the project with other people, ask questions or have a debate at home, school or university about the importance for humans to travel to Mars. You can also buy Mars One merchandise items, such as T-shirts, sweaters, posters, stickers or mugs. That will definitely result in a few energetic conversations! And finally, you can make a donation. No matter how big or small, all the donations will be applied to the project.

As we all know, nothing in life is risk free. A mission to Mars is not an exception. There are a few things which could go wrong: an accident during launch, some serious technological malfunctioning during the travel to Mars, problems when entering the atmosphere of Mars or when landing. To make the mission as safe as possible, before the real manned mission starts, rockets will be tested dozens of times, as well as the technology inside them. Entering the atmosphere of Mars will also be tested eight times by identical unmanned capsules.

If after reading this you still want to participate in the mission, here is the astronaut selection process. The most important attributes of a successful astronaut, as stated on the website, are emotional and psychological stability, supported by a personal drive and motivation. All the applicants must be 18 years old or older. They cannot be dependent on any drug, alcohol or tobacco and cannot suffer from any sickness. There is also a limit to height, it must be between 157 and 190 cm, and potential astronauts must have perfect sight in both eyes of 100% either corrected with contact lenses or not. If you match all this, why not to apply? As part of the application process, you will be required to upload a video to show why you are the best candidate. One of the most popular videos at the moment is a article by Willard Sollano Daniac from Phillipnes but if you think you could be a better applicant ready to leave your footprints on Mars, why not to apply yourself?

 

Image Courtesy: NASA (Wiki Commons), Viking mission team(Wiki Commons)