People to Live on Mars

Emily Newton

What was once a thing of science fiction is now reality: people are really going to try to live on Mars. The Dutch nonprofit group Mars One accepted 200,000 applications over the past few years of potential candidates and has now narrowed that list down to 100 people. What’s’ the next step for these 100 people?

“The following selection rounds will focus on composing teams that can endure all the hardships of a permanent settlement on Mars. The candidates will receive their first shot at training in the copy of the Mars Outpost on Earth and will demonstrate their suitability to perform well in a team” (Mars One).

Ultimately, the goal is to narrow it down to 24 final candidates and make six groups of four. Starting in 2024, the groups will be sent on a one-way trip to Mars every two years with the goal of starting a colony. Of the 100 current candidates, 38 are from the United States.

$6 billion is the cost for just the first group. In addition, with the current technology, it is estimated that people could not survive more than 68 days. We may be in the midst of making extra terrestrial history.

Alison Rigby, one of the 100 candidates from East London, is very excited to have been selected thus far. “Pioneers are always ridiculed, but I am doing this for something better, which will hopefully benefit more people…” she stated.