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The Daily PollTHE CEO OF Mars One has hit back at critics of the project, including an Irish applicant who described it as “hopelessly flawed”.
Earlier this week, Trinity College astrophysicist Dr Joseph Roche told Medium the ranking of candidates for the one-way mission is determined purely by the amount of funding they have raised for the mission.
“I have not met anyone from Mars One in person … Initially they’d said there were going to be regional interviews… we would travel there, we’d be interviewed, we’d be tested over several days, and in my mind that sounded at least like something that approached a legitimate astronaut selection process.
“But then they made us sign a non-disclosure agreement if we wanted to be interviewed, and then all of a sudden it changed from being a proper regional interview over several days to being a 10-minute Skype call,” Roche said.
The Irishman had made it into the top 100 candidates but was booted from the programme after his comments breached a confidentiality agreement.
‘Simply not true’
However, Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp has released a video in which he disputes Roche’s claim that candidates were selected on how much money they donated to the programme, saying this is “simply not true”.
He said the mission is still feasible, and the selection process “will be much more thorough from here on”.
“We started our astronaut selection with over 200,000 applications that were submitted online. The application included a video and a lot of psychological questions for our candidates. We used that to narrow down the candidates to about 1000 that had to do a medical check, which was very similar to the check for NASA astronauts.”
Interestingly, it is not so complex to determine who is not qualified to go to Mars, which is what we have been doing so far. Our next step is to find out, from the people who we think might be qualified, which ones have what it takes. The selection process will be much more thorough from here on.
“Going to Mars is very difficult, for example NASA has been talking about going to Mars in 20 years for more than 45 years now. Of course, NASA needs a return mission which is much more complex than our one way mission but it shows how difficult Mars exploration is.”
What do you think? Will the Mars One project land people on the planet?
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Took us ten years to join the Luas lines together. Yeah I am really looking forward to a Mars exploration.
They are joined together?!?!?
Yep, joined together by some simple pedestrian streets…
(Now that I put it like that, I’m amazed this ‘solution’ hasn’t been sold to the public before now.)
One word springs to mind “Ascension”, as seen on sky 1
When are the new episodes out for Ascension? Anyone know?
They might just about manage a day trip to the Mars bar factory instead by the sounds of it.
That’s what some said about the trip to the moon in the early 20th century.
Even though mars bars weren’t invented yet.
You don’t “invent” a Mars Bar, surely? That’s only for things like the locomotive.
Such rubbish. I can see now why the Irish guy decided to get on with his life here on earth instead.
Does this mean that Women will go to Venus….?
snd if so where will………………
What about the ladyboys? Where will they go??
Well, sir, there’s nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide Electrified, six-car monorail What’d I say?
Monorail already done yesterday Jake…
Monorail
Monorail
Monorail
Well sir, there’s nothing on Earth like a genuine, bona-fide, electrified, six-car monorail! What’d I say?
Monorail!
Of course, that’s why man hasn’t managed to get there yet ? I don’t doubt it will happen, but not in my lifetime. (I’m 44).
All it takes is one dedicated drive and we could pull it off. The Apollo Program showed that we can make significant advances in a very short time period with enough political, financial and social willpower.
One of the things that will give them trouble is the radiation belt they will have to pass tru. Nasa said in a video that they have to build a spaceship that will be able to pass tru this without killing the astronauts. Maybe they should ask the apollo program directors how they did it in the 60s.
I would like to hope it succeeds.
I don’t know if we’ll make it to Mars but I do know some of them have made it here. My cousin Barry from Cork is one for sure.
And if they can’t spell through, they haven’t a feckin hope…
@ronan – what do you mean? I think you threw too soon so read through again and this time be more thorough.
True.
Yeah it is definitely a sham. They claim they have all the necessary technologies, which is mostly true, but we also had most the technologies at the start of the Apollo program in 1960 such as rocket technology. The reason the Apollo program cost hundreds of billions of dollars is these technologies needed to be DEVELOPED, not just invented. They needed to be developed into something useful for the task at hand. And that takes time and a LOT of money.
To iiiinfinity and beyond!!
Effin clouds
Two great candidates for mars. Michael D and End a Kenny. Best part is it’s one way trip. Oh better cancel that. Can you imagine the expenses they would claim
Monorail, Monorail!!!
The major concern about the project, apart from the technical feasibility (outline in the paper I liked to), is their lack of engagement with the established space agencies – such a massive undertaking like this can’t possibly be achieved without huge collaborative efforts.
The second concern also links to the first – financing. Not to begin the project, or develop/adapt the technologies needed but to continue servicing it as is progresses. If, like any product, interest wains then the money dries up – who will pay for it then?
Is higgins going to?? great!
Here’s a link to a great paper on the technical feasibility of the Mars One mission, by some scientists at MIT
It’s quite technical but accessible. Worth a read of you’re interested in this sort of thing http://web.mit.edu/sydneydo/Public/Mars%20One%20Feasibility%20Analysis%20IAC14.pdf
Must be a Mars Bar so. Or maybe a Galaxy!!!!
Milky way
It is more than flawed, it is a joke…
Ha not surprised by the poll results…we after after all a nation of barstool know it all’s who begrudge anything positive
Why the hell would anybody decide to live on Mars instead of earth.
What’s really amazing is that mankind hasn’t been back to the moon since landing there over four decades ago
Admittedly I don’t know a lot about this mission but for arguments sake they do make it to Mars, what’s the plan? To start a new society there? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. A society won’t just come together in perfect harmony. Let alone what are they going to do for medical supplies, technology, the knowledge and skill base that built up here over hundreds and thousands of years. Sure they can bring some of that with them but not everything. Whatever about them making it there, I can’t see how everything is going to fall into place once they do.
Sure you can get all the technology into a few terabit drives
Wow. I’ve never seen 100% in any of these polls vote one way or the other!
It took the biggest economy (America) to send lads to the moon. There’s no way a private company can send lads to Mars! I’d say it’s a big scam anyways…the fellas in charge are making a pile of money from publicity and investors and they’ll eventually pull the plug on it and walk away rich men.
Totally impossible,will never happen .Mars is too hostile for any form of life to inhabite and there is an awful lot of progress to be made even to land there safely
have your say