Mars One: A One-Way Ticket
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 |
| Photo Courtesy of Mars One |
Would you ever consider moving to Mars?
Asking this question takes me back to a time when the idea of
traveling to another planet was pure fiction. We are a Twilight
Zone-obsessed family and we've always believed that most of its story
lines will happen sooner or later in real life. With Mars One sending
people to begin a colony in Mars, we are left with little to the
imagination.
My mother thought I was going bonkers
when I told her over breakfast the other day that a private company
called Mars One has been accepting applications for Mars since last
year. Around 4,000 people from 177 countries have already qualified
with the US having the most number of qualifiers. I couldn't blame
her. Although I have heard of Mars One and its mission to begin
sending people to this small planet in 2024, a part of me still find
the whole idea too out-of-this-world (excuse the pun). I didn't think
it was actually going to happen in my lifetime.
We were lucky to be at the Astronomy
Week Celebration at The Mind Museum on February 22. The line up of
events were indeed worth every minute of our time. The highlight for
me was Cafe Scientifique's “We are Going to Mars!' It was an
interactive exchange through Skype between Arno Weilders and the
guests. Arno Weilders is the Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer
of Mars One.
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| Live Skype exchange with Arno Weilders |
Weilders gave a brief introduction to
Mars One and then went on to answer questions from the audience. The
questions ranged from what kind of government the first inhabitants
would have, how conflicts would be resolved, what kind of food would
be available, and what would the source of water be, among others.
The last one was a question from a little girl in the audience.
Mars One launched its selection process
in April 2013. It is a rigid process that requires an applicant to
have five key characteristics such as resiliency, adaptability,
curiosity, ability to trust, and creativity and resourcefulness.
Applicants should also be at least 18 years old, which is what is
considered the legal age in most countries.
“It will all be up to them,”
Weilder said, when he was asked about conflict resolution. “There
is a 20-minute delay in communication between Mars and Europe and it
will be impossible to manage Mars' inhabitants from the Earth,”
Weilder added.
For the first year, they will be
feeding on canned goods that will be sent with them on the first
trip in 2024. The trip will take somewhere between eight to nine
months and they are expected to land in 2025. Other crucial details
about the first trip have not yet been revealed.
When asked if he was ever tempted to
apply, he answered, “Yes, it did cross my mind, but I have two young
kids and I don't think it would be fair for them.” Weilders quickly
added in jest, “I'm not very good at dealing with stress so I don't
think I'd qualify.”
Even if you wanted and decided to,
there is no guarantee that a family will be allowed to travel
together. It will still depend on the result of individual
assessment.
What really sends chills to my spine is
that the trip is a one-way ticket to Mars. No return trip...ever. To
me, it is a real-life closing credit to an episode of the Twilight
Zone.
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