Mars One selects pool of 100 candidates to be winnowed down to 24
The 50 men and 50 women were narrowed down from a pool of more than 200,000 applicants, the company said in a news release Monday.The Dutch company Mars Onehas selected 100 candidates who will compete for a one-way ticket to the Red Planet.
A non-profit Dutch organization spearheading an effort to colonize Mars whittled down its list of candidate settlers to 100 men and women interested in permanent relocation a decade from now.
Selecting the Crew
There are multiple the requirements to become a Mars One astronaut. Applicants’ characteristics must fit with those of an astronaut. Meaning the candidate needs to be:
- Resilient
- Adaptable
- Curious
- Trustworthy and Trusting
- Creative/Resourceful
- Above the age of 18
- A2 English level
- Other physical requirements
Selection Process
The selection process consists of four rounds, resulting in international crews of up to six groups of four.
Round 1
All candidates must submit an online application. The online application consists of general information about the applicant, a motivational letter, a resume and a one minute video in which the applicant answers some given questions and explains why he or she should be among the first humans to set foot on Mars.
At this stage the potential candidates can submit their application in one of the 11 most used languages on Internet: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Indonesian, Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Korean. If an applicant decides to make his or her profile public, the application videos is available to be watched on community.mars-one.com. At the end of the first selection round, a team of Mars One experts will decide which applicants will pass to the next selection round.
Round 2
Mars One then narrows the remaining applicants down to Round Two candidates. These individuals need to provide a medical statement from their own physician stating that they have met all the defined requirements. Mars One's criteria for medical fitness are similar to those of NASA.
The remaining individuals will subsequently receive materials to study for general knowledge questions. Mars One Chief Medical Officer Norbert Kraft interviews the members of this group individually about the knowledge questions and about their motivation to become part of this life-changing mission.
The interviews are brief because it does not require a lot of time to determine which candidate is not suitable to fly to Mars. Therefore, the following selection rounds will be focused on determining who has what it takes to settle on Mars. The remaining candidates will have shown that they are healthy, smart, and dedicated.
Round 3
The third round is an international selection round, which could be aired on TV and internet in countries around the world. Candidates who make it into this third selection round will participate in group challenges that demonstrate their suitability to become one of the first humans on Mars, and will take part in longer and more thorough interviews. The Mars One Selection Committee will determine who will pass to the final selection round.
Round 4
The final selection round will be broadcasted throughout the world. The Mars One selection committee will create international groups of four candidates. The groups will be expected to demonstrate their ability to live in harsh living conditions, and work together under difficult circumstances. The groups will receive their first short term training in a copy of the Mars outpost.
From the first selection series, up to six groups of four will become full time employees of the Mars One astronaut corps, after which they will train for the mission. Whole teams and individuals might be selected out during training if they prove not unsuitable for the mission.
Future Crew Expansion
A new group of four astronauts will land on Mars every two years, steadily increasing the settlement’s size. Eventually, a living unit will be built from local materials, large enough to grow trees. As more astronauts arrive, the creativity applied to settlement expansion will certainly give way to ideas and innovation that cannot be conceived now. But it can be expected that the human spirit will continue to persevere, and even thrive in this challenging environment.
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