What Made 400 People Volunteer for a One-Way Mission to Mars?


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An interplanetary trip to Mars could take as little as 10 months, but returning would be virtually impossible -- making the voyage a form of self-imposed exile from Earth unlike anything else in human history.

What would inspire someone to volunteer? We've just found out.

A special edition of the Journal of Cosmology details exactly how a privately-funded, one-way mission to Mars could depart as soon as 20 years from now -- and it prompted more than 400 readers to volunteer as colonists.

"I've had a deep desire to explore the universe ever since I was a child and understood what a rocket was," Peter Greaves told FoxNews.com. Greaves is the father of three, and a jack-of-all-trades who started his own motorcycle dispatch company and fixes computers and engines on the side.

"I envision life on Mars to be stunning, frightening, lonely, quite cramped and busy," he told FoxNews.com. "Unlike Earth I wouldn't be able to sit by a stream or take in the view of nature's wonder, or hug a friend, or breath deeply the sweet smell of fresh air -- but my experience would be so different from all 6 to 7 billion human beings ... that in itself would make up for the things I left behind."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/10/space-volunteer-way-mission-mars/#ixzz1AgyuXrEE

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I would do it so long as solar cells provided enough power for a good sized monitor and computer - and the government provided enough games to last me 20 years :)

But yes - I would love to go on a terminal expedition such as this. Space exploration has been a fantasy of mine since early on.

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I'll do it regardless of the dangers. I want to be apart of that team! But of course id be 45 by then. I wouldn't consider 20 years from now soon....

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In 20 years we'll probably have the technology to make the return trip possible. But, I still wouldn't do it.

I'd rather stay here on Earth with my lovely lady.

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Option A: Stay on Earth, get a job, be a slave to the machine until retirement.

Option B: Go to Mars, leave capitalist repetitive lifestyles, help start a new human colony from scratch on a new planet, experience something no one else would ever experience.

I'd go.

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If I had only known about this before hand. The idea of setting foot on another planet well within my life time renders my mind in ways I can't understand. I'm sure if this mission were to go active and they were successful at their attempt at putting settlers on Martian soul they would all be written down in history forever.

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I do admire people who are sincere about going to Mars as pioneers in the quest of expanding our existence in this vast universe. This is a noble cause and those who volunteer do deserve our appreciations :).

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I really can't understand how anyone would want to do this. You would give up everything to live on a barren rock?

You can't go outside, very little access to entertainment media, if any. You wouldn't even have internet, you would be stuck living with the same few people for the rest of your life.

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I really can't understand how anyone would want to do this. You would give up everything to live on a barren rock?

You can't go outside, very little access to entertainment media, if any. You wouldn't even have internet, you would be stuck living with the same few people for the rest of your life.

Also, keep in mind it'd be a "very" short life too.

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That does not seem like such an attractive prospect. you are not going to be out there nailing fine alien chicks you are going to spend the rest of your living life on a rock...

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Option A: Stay on Earth, get a job, be a slave to the machine with little prospect of any retirement.

Option B: Go to Mars, leave capitalist repetitive lifestyles, help start a new human colony from scratch on a new planet, experience something no one else would ever experience.

I'd go.

There fixed that for ya...

BTW: where do I sign up... I'm ready to leave this madness and life here ...

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