Mllcg 3rd Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 (edited) Permanantly.. anyone interested? THE HAGUE, Netherlands: As the world marvels at the latest US Mars landing, a Dutch start-up is aiming to beat NASA at its own game by sending the first humans to the red planet -- and film all as a reality show. The big hitch: it's a one-way trip. Fact, fiction or publicity stunt from the land that launched reality TV? The start-up, called "Mars One", says it is dead serious about landing four astronauts on Mars by 2023, seven years ahead of the US space agency's target, and plans to start the search for volunteers next year. Experts are sceptical, but "Mars One" has won backing from none other than Dutch Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft, who won the 1999 prize for physics. "My first reaction was: 'this will never work'. But a closer look at the project convinced me. I really think this is possible," 't Hooft told AFP. No one has yet tried to put man on Mars and scientists question whether radiation exposure would even allow humans to survive the trip. As for space agencies' attempts since 1960 to land unmanned craft, only about half have succeeded, with the US in the clear lead. And though six missions did make it to Mars -- including NASA's Curiosity rover that set down Aug 5 to hunt for signs of past life and prepare for a possible human mission -- scientists have no way, yet, to get spacecraft back. Sound discouraging? Not to the man behind "Mars One", mechanical engineer Bas Lansdorp, 35. He estimates its pricetag at a hefty $6 billion, more than twice the $2.5 billion for Curiosity, NASA's biggest mission yet, and said the idea for financing came after talks with Paul Romer, one of the Dutch creators of "Big Brother", the first reality show in 1999 that was a smash hit and spawned versions, and big profits, worldwide. "Funding will be made possible through the media spectacle built around the adventure," he told AFP. For Lansdorp, "the conquest of the red planet is the most important step in the history of mankind," even if he concedes that many aspects of "Mars One" are still uncertain. Among these are the ethics and legality of asking people to finish their lives in outer space, under TV scrutiny. Other critics say "Mars One" seems more focused on the monetisation -- rather than the feasibility -- of the project. Under Lansdorp's plan, choosing and training the astronauts, their months-long space journey and their lives on Mars would all be televised -- along the lines of "Big Brother" where a small group was isolated in a house and constantly filmed by TV cameras. 'Possible, in theory' The Dutch engineer, who previously worked in the field of wind power, has teamed up with a physicist, an industrial designer and a communications specialist. They would run the operation, he said, and technical aspects like building a space ship and living quarters on Mars would be outsourced to companies that were "most qualified". He has even drawn up a schedule. Selection and training of astronauts is set to start next year, then modules for the space station, food and robotic vehicles would be sent between 2016 and 2022. A first group of four men and women would set foot on Mars in April 2023, Lansdorp told AFP, with others to follow until there was a colony of 20 people a decade later. They would mainly conduct scientific experiments, notably looking for signs of life, like Curiosity. On a planet with an average temperature of minus 55 degrees C (minus 67 F) whose atmosphere mainly of carbon dioxide, Lansdorp said oxygen would be produced from water found below Mars' surface. For Chris Welch, an engineering professor at France's International Space University in Strasbourg, getting oxygen this way was "possible in theory" but highly uncertain. And "landing a person on Mars -- why not?" he said. "But landing four people and keeping them alive on one spot -- that's much harder. "From a technical standpoint, I'd say it's fifty-fifty -- but it's still a courageous try," said Welch, who also questioned whether $6 billion could be raised "via television". At the European Space Agency, Jorge Vago, an expert on its Mars exploration project "ExoMars", said turbulence on the planet made it virtually impossible to land two craft at the same place, as foreseen by "Mars One". "If the robot vehicle which has to build the living module lands 100 kilometres (62 miles) or even 20 kilometres away, it will be very difficult." He also said eruptions from the sun that release ionised material into space could "burn" astronauts and damage their ship. Despite the doubts, a firm note of support has also come from the Netherlands own Space Society, the umbrella group for Dutch companies working in the space industry. Its chairman Gerard Blaauw called Lansdorp's plan a "visionary idea to combine media and aerospace", in comments on the "Mars One" website, saying "this merger...alone means Mars One is worth watching!" -AFP/sb http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/fea...1220637/1/.html Edited August 17, 2012 by Mllcg ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoverofCar 6th Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 (edited) Why not let someone live on the moon first...it is equally watchable....as a show...may be include a piak piak session there....dress in a rabbit suit and chinese opera custume.........confirm viewership damn high! Edited August 17, 2012 by LoverofCar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee 1st Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 make movie better .. Red Planet - Val Kilmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee 1st Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Why not let someone live on the moon first...it is equally watchable....as a show...may be include a piak piak session there....dress in a rabbit suit and chinese opera custume.........confirm viewership damn high! moon got no 'water' to make oxygen. so supplying oxygen will be a problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Turbocharged August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Why not let someone live on the moon first...it is equally watchable....as a show...may be include a piak piak session there....dress in a rabbit suit and chinese opera custume.........confirm viewership damn high! Chang Er fooking her pet rabbit! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoverofCar 6th Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Chang Er fooking her pet rabbit! Because HouYi never fly to the moon together with her lah...so only rabbit there... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icedbs Turbocharged August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Why not let someone live on the moon first...it is equally watchable....as a show...may be include a piak piak session there....dress in a rabbit suit and chinese opera custume.........confirm viewership damn high! Moon cannot sustain life. Mars maybe can...at least that's what they think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoverofCar 6th Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Moon cannot sustain life. Mars maybe can...at least that's what they think. at least moon trip is no a one way ticket....still got chance to returned.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Turbocharged August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 at least moon trip is no a one way ticket....still got chance to returned.... You really think Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed and returned? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shull Turbocharged August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 moon got no 'water' to make oxygen. so supplying oxygen will be a problem. Moon has got water in the form of ice at the poles.. i think that has been confirmed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoverofCar 6th Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 You really think Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed and returned? no...I don't....I only believe chang er flew... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph22 Turbocharged August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 You really think Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed and returned? You didnt watch transformer 3?? They brought back sentinel prime Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlau 1st Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 (edited) You didnt watch transformer 3?? They brought back sentinel prime but Transformers are bio-mecha-exoskeletals, they dont need water and oxygen, they just need energon cubes...hehehe... coming back to humans... i feel it is a waste of money...$6billion dollars can do a lot of miracles for our fellow human beings ON EARTH, especially for the less fortunate ones... Edited August 17, 2012 by Antlau Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racing Clutched August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Wtf they trying to do. Keep spending $ n flying to moon n planets. So many ppl dun even hv food. Astronauts hv the worst job in the word. They dun hv red light district on moon n planets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ngck 3rd Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 Why not let someone live on the moon first...it is equally watchable....as a show...may be include a piak piak session there....dress in a rabbit suit and chinese opera custume.........confirm viewership damn high! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotshot85 4th Gear August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 I would sign up if given the chance LOL!! Kiss goodbye to this crazy world~ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazdaowner Moderator August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 I will volunteer to stay on the little red planet. Geylang right? That place is red mah. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadX Moderator August 17, 2012 Share August 17, 2012 I will volunteer to stay on the little red planet. Geylang right? That place is red mah. er..think the entire universe and this stellar and others duwan you.....lucifer tried already [laugh] ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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