By Douglas V. Gibbs
Growing up I was a huge Science Fiction fan, and I still am. The worlds of Asimov, Heinlein, Niven, Clarke, Herbert, and countless others kept me spellbound. I imagined when I was an adult we would have flying cars, robots doing the laundry, colonies off-planet, and an information system where people could access anything at their fingertips.
Okay, so one out of four ain't so bad.
Perhaps two out of four.
Mars One is a private company that is planning on establishing a settlement on Mars by 2023. All they need is a helluva lot of money.
Now that we have the rovers, the idea is to use them to find a good site, then send some astronauts willing to make the one way trip to Mars. These first settlers would be the ones to establish the habitat, with new folks being added every couple years. . . with the understanding they will never be coming back to Earth.
And of course, there would be a lot of media exposure. Perhaps a reality show, too!
Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp said of the endeavor, "By sending a new crew every two years, Mars will have a real, growing settlement of humans -- who would not like to follow that major event in human history?"
The Mars One video has received over 232,000 views on YouTube since it launched less than a week ago.
Would this open us up into a new phase of exploration? The idea of interplanetary travel, and colonization, is definitely something a Sci-Fi fan like myself could sink his teeth into, and it would definitely be a great first step towards the hope of ever exploring outer space.
The astronaut selection process begins next year, and those chosen will undergo a decade of preparation.
Any takers?
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Mars One: One Way Ticket to the Red Planet - The Upshot, Yahoo News
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