The space race is in full swing. With most of the focus being on the Moon, a Dutch firm is making plans to send a colony of humans to the Red Planet, Mars.
Nearly every single week new news hits about the dire state of the atmosphere and the environment, in fact, it seems like we hear news of O-Zone holes and global warming every single day. But what can be done to stop it? Very little, apparently, which is why some companies invested in the space race are looking for a way out of Earth altogether, with Mars One, a firm based in The Netherlands looking for a way to expand the human race in a rather unlikely location, Mars.
Scheduled to begin in a decade, all the way in 2023, Mars One will send four astronauts to the planet with the hope that they will form a colony of humans there. This won’t prove easy though, as the team of people that will be sent there will have to adjust to Mars’ gravity, with the surface gravity on the Red Planet being just 38% of Earth’s.
What this means is that the astronauts will experience mass physical changes in their bodies, with things such as bone density, muscle strength and blood circulation all being rapidly affected by the vast changes. It also means that should the Mars adventurers re=enter Earth’s atmosphere, they would be unable to survive.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that the astronauts will neither be offered a return, nor will they able to get a way back to Earth, Mars One are looking for applicants to apply to the program to be one of the lucky four. Ordinary people can apply to be chosen, and in fact, since the projects’ recent announcement, it has had 10,000 applicants.
Mars One say that their ideal applicant possesses these qualities, “resilience, adaptability, curiosity, ability to trust and resourcefulness” and that they also must be over 18 years old. All of these personality features are incredibly important considering that the chosen team will represent and produce the next strand of Mars-based humans.
Also important to note, is that the search for the Mars roving team will be televised , meaning that too with the promise of exploring a new planet, the fame may provide a suitable incentive considering that they won’t be making it home.
Source : the guardian
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