While many suspected that the European non-profit Mars One was using questionable methods, it wasn't until a recent interview with a finalist that things heated up. Elmo Keep's interview with Mars One finalist Dr. Joseph Roche led many to believe that Mars One is a scam and a terrible idea. However, the organization wasn't going to leave that one out there without a response.
Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp posted a video on Thursday that attempts to answer all of the negative claims made by Roche about the company's application process, training and funding.
"The suggestion was made that our candidates were selected on the basis of how much money they donate to Mars One, and that's just simply untrue," Lansdorp said, adding that the idea that the candidates paid to get into the finalists has no backing. Some candidates did, however, pay for merchandise and donate funds to the company. Lansdorp did not specify who was or was not donating.
The CEO also said he offered the journalist who did the interview access to their candidate database.
"We offered Elmo Keep as the first journalist ever to have access to our list of 200,000 applications," Lansdorp said. "She was not interested in that, so it seems to me she is more interested in writing a sensational article about Mars One than in the truth."
Lansdorp also notes that the Mars One mission deadline has been delayed to 2027.
Mars One also published a written version of the interview, where Lansdorp answered a number of questions about the project, including the issues of how astronauts were picked, where Mars One's funding is coming from and what Mars One will do in light of losing its broadcasting partner.
While Lansdorp does a good job of responding to many of Elmo Keep and Dr. Scott Roche's claims, The Verge notes that he did not comment on the technical feasibility of the project, which analysts believe to be really low.
