It’s safe to say that the majority of scientists worldwide
believe that there is life way beyond Earth, but would you want to travel the
140 million miles to get to Mars and regularly endure the temperatures of -153oC
at the poles of Mars? Well, tens of thousands of people have applied and
prepared to leave their families, jobs and lives behind for a one-way trip to
Mars all to never return to Earth.
Home to the solar system’s biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, Mars
has around 687 earth days each year and
at night, the surface temperature of Mars in the summer can get as low as -53oC.
Rovers on Mars have even discovered Martian spherules which have been nicknamed
‘blueberries’ which may even unlock the key to the elements that Mars once had,
although scientists haven’t discovered these for certain yet although they do
know that these spherules are iron rich. This is also shown because of Mars’
classic red colour which shows an extremely high percentage of iron
This “Mars One” mission (launched back in May 2012) aims to
send humans on a one- way trip to the Red Planet. You might think that this
amazing opportunity is a science-fiction story and wouldn’t happen for a good
while yet but this programme aims to send a selected number of the public up to
Mars by 2023, fully equipped with the right training needed to survive on Mars.
Anyone worldwide over 18 was eligible to apply for the trip and 202,589
applications were received throughout the application process!
The selection process consists of three rounds including an
interview with the ‘Mars One’ committee members and a series of challenges to
prepare candidates for the potential mission that will be broadcast on TV and
online.
The brave volunteers will be sent in groups of four,
starting with two men and two women from four different continents. From 2023
when the first group is sent up, ‘Mars One’ (the company organising the trips) are
planning to send an extra four up every two years!
However the trip isn’t without its risks, radiation exposure
is particularly a concern as it can lead to an increased cancer risk, lower
immune system and possible infertility. This could mean that before the
applicants reach Mars, their health may be worse than when they took off from
Earth! Being on Mars they wouldn’t have access to doctors and hospitals so
would need to manage their own health using restricted medical supplies.
The Dutch group wants to launch a supply mission to land on
Mars as soon as October 2016, and then another mission that they have called a
‘settlement rover’ to land in 2018. By 2033 the colony could reach 20 settlers
on the Red Planet, although the mission could prove very costly! NASA spent
£1.8 billion on Mars’ Curiosity Rover which is the biggest most advanced Rover
to travel across Mars, but ‘Mars One’ has a budget of £4 billion for this
project but it could prove the most worthwhile and open up so many more opportunities
and avenues for exploration in science.
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