My very first blog entry... and I am not going to blog about any boring, random thing that is unimportant to others.
Yeah, by reading the title and address, you would have guessed it: It is about the Mars One program. An initiative of a private, not-for-profit organization that aims to send humans to Mars, starting the first launch in 2022, with the first landing of humans on Mars by 2023. A one-way trip. To establish a permanent settlement. An entirely new human civilization. On an entirely new planet.
If the thought is not exciting for you already, then either you are already secretly visiting far-off destinations in space with secret help from aliens, or you yourself are an alien from another planet, or you don't get excited by anything....
But yeah, I was talking about excitement caused by the thought of going to another planet and establishing a permanent human colony there... I was not talking about the skepticism surrounding the idea. Of course, one must have doubts before accepting anything... And this, by no means, looks easy. Already, space missions are so expensive that government space agencies have to cancel or postpone missions many times, and no government agency, not even NASA, is planning to send humans to Mars anytime soon. But, the Mars One mission has made a significant simplification by making this a one-way mission. With no return trips, a large amount of cost and complexity is removed. And about the funding: well, they say that the initial flight to send the first team of 4 humans may require around US $ 6 billion. And they say the entire project will be funded in large part by presenting it as the "biggest media spectacle in history". As for the technology: it "already exists".
Anyway, we can't know about anything for sure unless we try it, right?
And here is the thing that may make this program the most exciting for common people: the astronaut application process is open to adults worldwide. That's right: anyone over the age of 18 years who is physically and mentally fit, and speaks one of the languages in which the application can be made, can apply. No more need to whine that you cannot even apply to become an astronaut in NASA, Roscosmos or CNSA because you are not a citizen of USA, Russia or China. This is a global program.
So, why am I blabbering so much about all this? Am I applying? Am I even eligible?
Hell, yes....
In the next few blog entries, I will describe more about the application process, and my application...
(For more information about the Mars One program, you can visit their official website: www.mars-one.com.)
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