While NASA has significantly cut back on how many projects they invest in and how much development they offer to independent companies, the administration is still dedicated to getting to Mars. However, they aren't the only ones. Dutch not-for-profit Mars One hopes to get to Mars before NASA does. And now they have their top 100 potential candidates for making that happen.
In 2013, Mars One asked people to apply to become one of the four astronauts who would make a one-way trip to Mars. More than 200,000 people from around the world applied for the opportunity. However, the candidates had to fit a very particular set of requirements.
Once best physical candidates were chosen in the first round, interviews began to determine if the candidates had the traits needed to succeed in space for long periods of time. By the end of the second round of judging, the candidacy pool was cut down to 660 potential candidates, less than one percent of the candidacy pool. The 660 have been at the center of a lot of media attention.
However, after months of research and interviews, Mars One released their list of the 100 candidates who will train for the mission. These candidates will now be organized into teams and moved to a training center, where they will live and work in a copy of the Mars Outpost. After the year of training, Mars One hopes to choose four candidates to send to Mars. Mars One's goal is to begin their first mission to Mars by 2024, at least six years before NASA expects to send their first mission to Mars.
Mars One has reported that they hope to turn the training experience into a reality show, where people can watch the teams compete. However, it's unclear when this show will air, or when the 100 candidates' training will start.
