Saturday 10 May 2014

Only 705 of the 1058 Round 2 selected candidates confirm their candidature!

Mars One had asked the 1058 candidates selected for Round 2 to complete the following tasks, in order to confirm their candidature for Round 2 (the interview round):

  1. Getting certain medical check-ups done, and if found medically fit, emailing the completed medical statement to Mars One.
  2. Provide full official name and current residential address in email to Mars One.
  3. Making the Mars One applicant profile public, if not already so.

A few days back, all the Round 2  confirmed candidates got an email, mentioning how many candidates had confirmed their candidature, and also having an MS Excel file that had the list of all those confirmed candidates, showing some details like gender, country, Mars One profile web-link, etc.

A screenshot of the email that I received is shown below:



One-third of the selected candidates did not complete the above requirements!
1058 - 705 = 353 candidates!

Of course, if you are selected, but upon getting the medical check-ups done, if it is found that you are not medically fit for the mission, there is nothing much more that can be done. But all those 353 candidates were not medically unfit. Mars One said that some of them voluntarily dropped out, due to personal reasons. Also, I think the cost of medical check-ups (which varies widely from country to country) may have been prohibitive for a few applicants in certain countries (I remember reading the post of one such candidate on the Mars One - Aspiring Martians Group on Facebook). Hopefully, the cost was not too much in India, so I could afford the medical check-ups.

The voluntary withdrawals were quite a surprise. I knew some exceptions would be there, but I thought the number of people changing their mind due to personal reasons would be very less (a few tens, maybe). I was expecting at least 80 % (if not 90 %) of all selected candidates to confirm their candidature. But the actual figure is just 66.64 percent!

Many people may have applied in Round 1 with non-serious commitment. Almost everyone would love to go to Mars, but only a few would choose to go on a one-way trip to another planet, never to return to Earth. It is especially difficult for those who have small children right now: 10 years from now, when your child may be in his or her teens, and would require your financial, emotional and other support to survive in this world, you would have to be with him or her.

All this is completely understandable. But people should think about important and obvious aspects like this in the beginning itself. Why waste your time, effort and money in applying, if ultimately you will voluntarily reject the offer? In a competitive program with limited places available, your place may have gone to someone else, who would have remained committed to the program, and gladly accepted the offer. Space missions are often once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (some are calling the Mars One mission a "once in several lifetimes opportunity"),

Anyway, the good thing is that the majority of selected applicants confirmed their candidature, and 705 is not that small a number of candidates. Things are going to heat up now. The interviews seem a bit intimidating, but I hope to give my best shot, and see where things go.

May the best candidates go to Mars!

The medical check-ups required for confirmation of candidature in Round 2 (interview round)

The following were the medical checkup related instructions that all candidates selected for Round 2 received via email in early January 2014:


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Medical and Physiological Requirements 

In general, normal medical and physiological health standards will be used. These standards are derived from evidence-based medicine, verified from clinical studies. 

  • The applicant must be free from any disease. 
  • The applicant must be free from any dependency on drugs, alcohol or tobacco. 
  • The applicant must have the normal range of motion and functionality in all joints. 
  • The applicant must have visual acuity in both eyes of 100% (20/20) either uncorrected or corrected with lenses or contact lenses. 
  • The applicant must be free from any psychiatric disorders. 
  • It is important to be healthy, with an age- and gender-adequate fitness level. 
  • Blood pressure not to exceed 140/90 measured in a sitting position 
  • BMI <30 

Mars-One Applicant Medical Examination List 


The following is a list of required medical examinations that must be performed on a Mars-One Applicant by a physician (e.g. general practitioner). 


Medical Examinations and Parameters: 

  1. Interview/Questionnaire evaluation of family history, personal history and medical history 
  2. General physical examination, including
    • all major organ systems, including skin 
    •  mobility of extremities, joints and spine
    • routine ears-nose-throat examination 
    • Hearing Analysis - applicant must be able to understand correctly ordinary conversational speech at a distance of 2 meters from and with his back turned towards the examiner 
    • basic neurology assessment 
    • genital-urinary evaluation 
    • for females: gynecologic evaluation 
    • resting heart rate and blood-pressure 
  3. Standard 12-lead Resting ECG 
  4. Blood analysis for Hemoglobin (Hb), Lipids and Cholesterol 
  5. Urine stick analysis, including Glucose, Leucocytes, Erythrocytes, Protein 
  6. Ophthalmologic Analysis (can also be performed by ophthalmologist or vision care specialist, e.g. optometrist) 
    • vision in both eyes 
    • distant Visual acuity with or without correction of 0.5 (6/12) or better in each eye separately and with both eyes 1.0 (6/6) or better 
      • Refractive error shall not exceed +5 to -8 diopters 
      • Astigmatism shall not exceed 3 diopters

    • PRK or LASIX: at least 1 year has passed since the date of the refractive surgical procedure with no permanent adverse after effects. 
    • normal color perception (Ishihara or Nagel’s anomaloscope) 

  

Mars-One Applicant Medical Statement 


I have performed all of the medical examinations on the applicant in accordance with the document “Mars-One Applicant Medical Examination List” and have not detected any pathology. Based on the examination, the applicant does not appear to have any diseases, or psychiatric disorders. The applicant has normal vision in both eyes (corrected or uncorrected) and a normal range of motion in all extremities, as defined in the aforementioned document, applicant is also free from any dependency on drugs, alcohol or tobacco, Blood pressure does not to exceed 140/90 measured in a sitting position and BMI <30.


I hereby declare that the applicant passes the medical examination in accordance with the Mars-One 

Applicant Medical Examination List. 
Date ___ 
Applicant Name _____ 
Applicant Birth Date _______ 
Physician Name _______ 
Physician Address _______ 
Physician Signature _______ 
Physician Telephone _______ 
Physician Official Stamp _______ 

Remember, it is very important that you upload ONLY the Mars-One Applicant Medical Statement endorsed by your physician. DO NOT upload any medical data information associated with your Medical Exam. 

Please be aware, that you will have to cover the cost related to these examinations. 



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I got all the medical check-ups done in second half of February 2014. Total cost was about Rs 2000. (About US $ 33 by the exchange rate, but I guess it would be more like US $ 66 by purchasing power parity!) Hopefully, not too expensive. In the Mars One - Aspiring Martians Group on Facebook, many candidates mentioned their costs, which varied widely: USD 25, USD 400, EUR 40, EUR 200, etc., etc.


I emailed the final medical statement on 6th March 2014. The deadline was 8th March 2014.