Mars One, a Dutch not-for-profit organization, is planning the project to have no return ticket back to Earth due to a lack of technology, and the physiological changes the human body will undergo after it adjusts “to the 38% gravitation field of Mars, and be incapable of returning to the Earth’s much stronger gravity,” the Mars One website explained.The company has already received thousands of application from over 120 countries. The majority of applicants are from the US (17,324), followed by China (10,241), the United Kingdom (3,581), Russia, Mexico and Brazil.“With seventy-eight thousand applications in two weeks, this is turning out to be the most desired job in history. These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants,” Mars One Co-Founder and CEO Bas Lansdorp said in a press release. The funds for the $6 billion project are being raised through a planned reality TV show that will follow the applicants as they train and prepare for their one-way journey. The mission has currently raised $84,121.The applicants have a wide range of personalities, professions and ages. “This is significant because what we are looking for is not restricted to a particular background,” Mars One Chief Medical Officer Dr. Norbert Kraft said.When applying, individuals were told to explain why they want go to Mars in a one minute video. Twenty-year-old private security contractor Benjamin Payne from the US describes himself as a “space cowboy” who wants to “explore new planets and new things.”Undergraduate student Connor, 24, wants to be part of the first human colony on Mars because“it is groundbreaking, revolutionary, and historical. I feel it is our duty as human beings to maintain, advance and ensure the survival of the human species. Mars is a stepping stone for that,” he said in his video.Even the older generation is interested in making the trip despite the lengthy training – at least seven years – plus the seven-month journey to Mars. Retired systems engineer Richard, 60, believes that Mars is “explorer’s golden ring for the next 25 to 30 years and I’d like to be a part of that experience.”Successful candidates will receive at least seven years of training before leaving Earth, the company explained.“Four rounds make the selection process, which will come to an end in 2015; Mars One will then employ 28-40 candidates, who will train for around 7 years. Finally an audience vote will elect one of groups in training to be the envoys of humanity to Mars,” Mars One said in its press release.Once on Mars, settlers will be involved mainly in construction work such as installing greenhouses, maintaining the settlement’s systems and researching Martian climate and geological history – all in inhospitable environment with no breathable air, and with temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius.The perfect candidate for the mission would not be a scientist with specific skill sets, but people with “a deep sense of purpose, willingness to build and maintain healthy relationships, the capacity for self-reflection and ability to trust,” Mars One explained.This is not the only ongoing Mars project. Previously, Russian space agency Roscosmos signed a deal with the European Space Agency (ESA) to participate in the ExoMars project, a new attempt to discover life on the Red Planet. The mission will drill 30 times deeper beneath the surface of Mars than the currently operating Curiosity rover, reaching a depth of approximately 6.5 feet (2 meters).In 2010 and 2011, Russia carried out the Mars-500 experiment: A group of six volunteers were locked inside a simulated spacecraft at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow for 520 days – the time it would take to travel to Mars and back. … Read More
Minecraft gets Oculus Rift support via third-party mod
Oculus Rift, the virtual reality visor that came into fruition after an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign last summer is still making waves around the internet. If you are one of the lucky few to own a headset unit — or have one on preorder — and happen to be be… … Read More
How shoppers can help prevent Bangladesh-type disasters
While rescue workers continue to dig through the rubble of Rana Plaza, the collapsed Bangladeshi garment factory responsible for the deaths of 433 people (and counting), Americans are faced yet again with the stark reality of consumer culpability in these disasters.Major clothing retailers like Wal-Mart, Joe Fresh, JCPenney and the Children’s Place were each found to have subcontracted manufacturing to the crumbling factory in Savar, where workers were making an average of $38 a month and coerced to report to work even after the walls of the building were literally falling apart. In November, fire ravaged another garment factory near the capital city of Dhaka, leaving 112 dead. Again, pieces of clothing from Sears, the Walt Disney Co. and other major retailers were found among the scorched remains.In the aftermath of such tragic, and preventable, losses of life, many consumers are left asking themselves what role they can play in discouraging disasters like this from happening again. And, fortunately, there are answers. The collective power of workers is a real thing, and the collective power of consumers is, too.Continue Reading… … Read More
What is YOUR Inflation Rate?
Your cost of living increase – your personal inflation rate – may be much larger or smaller than that of the person next door. Your spending choices matter a great deal in determining your personal inflation rate. … Read More
Ten civilization-shaping trends for 2013 that are driving us into social and spiritual crisis
Most people feel that a time of great change is upon us. But what kind of change is unfolding, exactly? … Read More
The Revolution Passed In The Night
Many things are holding the headlines hostage, the terrorist attacks, the crippling effects of Obamacare, the prospect of expanding war in Syria, and as always Iran. … Read More
‘Muslim Rage is Still Out There’ Says Brokaw
http://www.youtube.com/v/Z-DQPioNJY4?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata View post: ‘Muslim Rage is Still Out There’ Says Brokaw
