Finalist Says Mars One Project Doomed To Fail

Is the Mars One Project of Bas Landsdorp the one giant scientific leap for mankind that will pave the way for exploration of more planets? Or is it a step backward because it was bound to fail from the start due to the alleged faulty selection of candidates?

Joseph Roche, one of the top 100 candidates, is having second thoughts and hints it could be a grand fund-raising scheme only. An assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, Roche has a PhD in physics and astrophysics.

But to get into the contest to select the finalists who would leave Earth permanently and establish a human colony in the red planet, all he had to do was participate in a brief Skype interview and take some tests, while the company behind the ambitious project said it would use doctors and other experts to trim the list.

Besides the selection process, Roche’s other concern is that to be a top contender, candidates are encouraged to donate 75 percent of their appearance fees to Mars One if they gain media attention, reports Matter, an online magazine that interviewed Roche.

In response to Roche’s question about donations, Suzanne Flinkenflogel, the spokesperson for Mar One, explained that since the venture costs billions of pounds, it uses a reality TV format where viewers could follow and support their respective candidates that would raise funds.

In each round of competition, the candidates get points which they can further boost their ranking by purchasing jumpers or posters from Mars One or donating money sourced from their appearance fees.

But Mars One replied that in cutting candidates during the third round, some who only paid the application fee made it, while some who contributed a large amount were eliminated, devaluing the role of contributions in the selection process.

Project proponents said the focus of the selection process for the 100 is their ability to endure the difficulties of settling in Mars as members of composting teams.

In February, Landsdorp told the Independent that the Mars One will be one of the biggest challenges humans would experience. But for Roche, his biggest worry now is people would support Mars One and then one day the project just goes kaput.

The project’s timetable is to deploy the first unmanned mission in 2018 and the first manned mission in 2024.

Newscientist.com cites Flinkenflogel that Mars One has a new partner for the reality contest component after Endemol, the Dutch company that also produces Big Brother, severed its business relationship with the space venture company.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au