Ultimate Reality TV: A Crazy Plan for a Mars Colony

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/project-seeks-to-colonize-the-red-planet-a-987080.html



It might become the mother of all reality shows. Fully 704 candidates are soon to begin competing for a trip to Mars to establish a colony there. Broadcasting rights are to fund the mission, but a return ticket is not part of the deal.

Ultimate Reality TV: A Crazy Plan for a Mars Colony
By Manfred Dworschak
August 22, 2014 – 01:42 PM

If his greatest wish is fulfilled, then Stephan Günther will one day die on Mars. He's already thought long and hard about the eventuality. He would like his companions to pack his remains in an airtight coffin before depositing him outside the colony among the rocks.

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Mars, to be sure, remains a deserted wasteland today, its ecology intact. But it could be that Günther could might be bouncing his way through rough craters beaming pictures back to Earth. Currently a flight trainer in Magdeburg, Germany, Günther has applied to take part in a unique voyage to our neighboring planet. A return trip is not part of the deal.

Conceiving the journey as one-way makes it vastly more feasible and less expensive. A Dutch foundation, led by businessman Bas Lansdorp, is behind the idea. "We want to send the first four settlers to Mars in 2024," he says, adding that "additional teams will follow."

Some 704 candidates say they are prepared to leave Earth forever. A competition will decide which of them will be sent to be humanity's permanent representatives on Mars. Lansdorp's foundation, Mars One, plans to train those chosen for eight years as preparation for a radically new life.