Stop the world I wanna get off....
With sincere apologies to Vermeer |
History has it in spades that
the Dutch were or are, great explorers. They are also direct and efficient
which is why in many multinational corporations you will often find
Dutchies in positions of responsibility. .
Now they have taken to the last
frontier, promoting a competition (which will be televised) for intrepid
souls to strut their stuff with a view to emigrating to Mars in 2022. Anyone
can apply (the fee is approx $38 U,S.) The company is appropriately named Mars
One.
Applicants need not expect to
return ; this is a one way venture. Big time. Mars One wants to build a colony that will be able to grow with an ever-expanding
crew. The group means to launch a
supply mission that will land on Mars as soon as October 2016. A
"settlement rover" will land in 2018. Mars One has already received thousands of
prospective applicants.
|
Candidates must be resilient, adaptable, resourceful and must
work well within a team. The whole project will be broadcast from the reality TV style
selection process, to landing and beyond..
Tellingly
at a
news conference, Mars One's co-founder Bas Lansdorp said
he'd like to go to Mars himself, but he
isn't because his girlfriend won't come along.
Sweet!