WANTED: Volunteers to live on Mars, star in reality show
If you thought you weren't qualified to be one of the first people to live on Mars, you were probably wrong.
Mars One, a Dutch nonprofit that is hoping to put the first boots on the planet in 2023, released a list of basic requirements for applicants interested in being a member of the first colony on Mars on Wednesday.
The criteria surprisingly doesn't include a scientific background or fighter pilot experience; anyone who is at least 18-years-old can apply. Additionally, important criteria include intelligence, good mental and physical health and dedication to the project, which will include eight years of training before launch and a commitment to live a lifetime on the Red Planet.
"Gone are the days when bravery and the number of hours flying a supersonic jet were the top criteria," Norbert Kraft, Mars One's chief medical director and a former NASA researcher, said in a statement. "Now, we are more concerned with how well each astronaut works and lives with the others, in the long journey from Earth to Mars and for a lifetime of challenges ahead."
The company plans to send cargo on a series of missions between 2016 and 2021 to build a habitable outpost ahead of the arrival of the first four colonists in 2023. Every two years after that, more colonists will arrive.
The ambitious endeavor will be funded by a global reality show that follows the lives of the colonists and the colonization effort beginning at astronaut selection through the first few years of the colony on Mars.
"Well before the official Astronaut Selection Program, we received more than 1,000 emails from individuals who desire to go to Mars," Suzanne Flinkenflögel, Mars One's communications director, said in a statement. "We are working hard to launch our selection campaign as soon as possible, to open the doors to everyone who aspires to do something tremendous in their lifetime."
