200,000 people apply to be first to live on Mars

[Wilikon]

http://fox6now.com/2013/12/10/200000-people-apply-to-be-first-to-live-on-mars/

(CNN) — If you have ambitions of being one of the first people on Mars, listen up: A Dutch company says it is moving along with its plan to send four lucky Earthlings to colonize the Red Planet. The catch: They won’t ever come back.
The Mars One foundation announced Tuesday that it has secured lead suppliers for an unmanned mission launching in 2018, which involves a robotic lander and a communications satellite. Lockheed Martin has been contracted to study building the lander, and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. will develop a concept study for the satellite, Mars One said.
This first mission will demonstrate technology that would be involved in a permanent human settlement on Mars. If all goes well — and that’s still very much an “if” — the first pioneers could land on Mars in 2025.
Enthusiasm has been growing since the project’s first big announcement in April. More than 200,000 people have signed up to be prospective astronauts, Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp said in Washington on Tuesday.
Apparently, they’re OK with living out the rest of their lives on Mars. The technology for a return flight doesn’t exist — there’s no Kennedy Space Center launch pad over there! — and having a one-way trip greatly reduces costs, the company has said.
The application period is now closed, and by the end of this year, the company plans to notify those special folk who made it to Round 2.
The unmanned mission is the “most important and most difficult step of actually getting humans to Mars,” Lansdorp said.
It would also be the first privately funded planetary exploration mission.
“The opportunity to participate in that is just really exciting,” said Ed Sedivy, a chief engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
Lansdorp expects that the majority of funding for the unmanned missions will come from sponsors and partners, not public contributions.
The cost of the lander and satellite will be something that the contracted companies will study, although Mars One has a ballpark figure in mind, Lansdorp said.

[Kiki112]

Why you  would you even live on Mars?
we've got a perfectly good Earth right here 

we might use Mars for some mining or stuff but just to live there hmm
it has more disadvantages then advantages I think 

Go Earth

[Lethn]

I never thought I'd actually say this being I'm very Anarchist but I actually have ethical concerns about this, who the hell are these 200,000 people and why the hell would they be okay with a company actually telling them they don't have a return plan for a trip to Mars and that they don't even have the fucking technology yet. What kind of morons do they have runnin-.... Oh wait it's Fox, move along people.

[ElectricMucus]

Ugh Marsone..I hope they begin to accept Bitcoins, I can't wait to see how many Bitcoiners will fall for this scam.

[XBBlade]

Probably nonsense! Why the hell do you want to go to the red planet. I mean all that will happen is they murder each other there when they start panic and realise they really can't go back.. Just a feeling.

[renaxi]

Since i have family here on earth, i wouldn't take the trip basicly because i would never get to see them again. But in chase of they all died (very unlikely but still), then i would have no problem with living on Mars. For the love of god, you get to share your daily life with 199.999 other people..
My only concern is how/what currencies system they are gonna use and what they are gonna do in chase of a baby boom suddenly happening.

[Savior]

Since i have family here on earth, i wouldn't take the trip basicly because i would never get to see them again. But in chase of they all died (very unlikely but still), then i would have no problem with living on Mars. For the love of god, you get to share your daily life with 199.999 other people..
My only concern is how/what currencies system they are gonna use and what they are gonna do in chase of a baby boom suddenly happening.

There will not be 200 000 people on Mars, that's the number of applicants. I think they was planning to send four people first, and then four more while the base was building. I have doubts about this project, but would be cool if they actually made it happen anytime soon.

[beetcoin]

this is mentioned quite often.. it sure would be fun as hell to go to mars, but it doesn't seem realistic for this to happen within our lifetime.

[Bitcoin-hotep]

I never thought I'd actually say this being I'm very Anarchist but I actually have ethical concerns about this, who the hell are these 200,000 people and why the hell would they be okay with a company actually telling them they don't have a return plan for a trip to Mars and that they don't even have the fucking technology yet. What kind of morons do they have runnin-.... Oh wait it's Fox, move along people.

Well someone has to do it and whoever does is going to be the "Adam and Eve" of the human race on Mars so that is something

[Spendulus]

this is mentioned quite often.. it sure would be fun as hell to go to mars, but it doesn't seem realistic for this to happen within our lifetime.

When there's a hundred thousand robots there, building things and extracting minerals and materials that we need, and they have been working for ten years, then we could go.

Mars does have the basic elements in quantities sufficient to support life, but it would need those robots running farms and ranches (sort of) before we could go.  None of these things are easy at all.

And there's a problem with the red dirt, which is apparently a strong oxidizer....your skin/lungs/stomach does not get along with it....

Primary reference for Mars:  google Robert Zubrin.

Another note:  If the landers were rocket based and not aerodynamic, they would have adequate power to weight to take off to low Mars orbit.   Then an entirely separate system is needed for transit between Mars and Earth.

[Ch1bi]

Wow, just wow.. I cannot fathom as to why someone would want to live out the rest of their life on Mars with no return ticket. I see so many problems with this already..

[Ekaros]

Wow, just wow.. I cannot fathom as to why someone would want to live out the rest of their life on Mars with no return ticket. I see so many problems with this already..

I don't understand why someone would want to be farmer, or any sort of frontier either...

Some people think they like to go to the unexplored and live there...

[ajax3592]

Do they accept Bitcoins?

The catch: They won’t ever come back.

That is scary, why would someone do that, wasting their whole life away from this beautiful planet.

[Qbeczeq]

Holy sh...

Don't have access to internet, phones, TV, radio, even no newspapers or... oh my God... nothing
I think they aren't be able to procreate too. And live in little pod without chance to get back on Earth anymore.
Only desperados can accept that offer 

[Wilikon]

Do they accept Bitcoins?

The catch: They won’t ever come back.

That is scary, why would someone do that, wasting their whole life away from this beautiful planet.

I would bet people in Europe were saying the exact same thing every time they saw ships sailing away for new lands, facing sea monsters, the edge of the world and starving mutineers 100 of years ago... Technically, at least in theory (hahaha!) they know more about their destination on Mars than explorers back then

Ultimate anarchism is to have total control of one's life AND one's death I would believe. Of course I cannot fathom why so many people would be pretty much ready to die or being eaten by each other, but this is ultimately their choice. As long as they don't ask me to pay for a bailout if they change their mind once over there.

[u9y42]

Holy sh...

Don't have access to internet, phones, TV, radio, even no newspapers or... oh my God... nothing
I think they aren't be able to procreate too. And live in little pod without chance to get back on Earth anymore.
Only desperados can accept that offer 

Well, I imagine they could still get internet, etc... lag time would be awful though, so they probably aren't going to be able to spend all day playing LoL. As for living space, I guess that as additional modules arrive (and more people), they would have more of it, and more options... assuming they survive the voyage and stay long enough.

[guybrushthreepwood]

I'm sure I read something ages ago about them turning this into a reality TV show. Could be BS as I don't see how it's feasible.

[Vod]

I'm sure I read something ages ago about them turning this into a reality TV show. Could be BS as I don't see how it's feasible.

Living on Mars, months away from any kind of emergency assistance, is about as real as it gets.   

[Wilikon]

I'm sure I read something ages ago about them turning this into a reality TV show. Could be BS as I don't see how it's feasible.

Living on Mars, months away from any kind of emergency assistance, is about as real as it gets.   

Just add an automated escape pod with room for only one person on Mars to see what would happen for the Live Martian TV show.... The launch card will be hidden on top of Mt Olympus... GO!

[Kiki112]

I'm sure I read something ages ago about them turning this into a reality TV show. Could be BS as I don't see how it's feasible.

Living on Mars, months away from any kind of emergency assistance, is about as real as it gets.  

Just add an automated escape pod with room for only one person on Mars to see what would happen for the Live Martian TV show.... The launch card will be hidden on top of Mt Olympus... GO!

how dafauq would they get to it?
Mt Olympus is like 20 000 m high