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Mars mission selects 1000 potential candidates

1,058 people have been selected from a pool of 200,000 volunteers as candidates to 'begin human life on Mars' as part of the Mars One mission, set to launch in 2024.

The private venture first advertised for volunteers to settle on Mars last September, and received more than 200,000 applicants. Now, it has reduced that by more than 99.5 percent to a pool of 1,058 potential astronauts. 

Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp described the remaining candidates as 'our first tangible glimpse into what the new human settlement will truly look like. 

'We're extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications', he continued. 'However, the challenge with 200,00 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors...from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously.'


The 1,059 candidates are made up of 55 percent men and 45 percent women. 63 percent have at least a university degree, while 3 percent have a medical degree. An ONS report from 2012 showed that 27 percent of UK citizens had a degree; the worldwide average is less than 7 percent.

43 percent of the candidates come from North or South America. 27 percent are from Europe, 21 percent from Asia, 5 percent from Africa and just 4 percent from Oceania. 28 percent come from the USA.

The pool of candidates also has youth on its side: 34 percent are aged below 25, with a further 65 percent aged between 26 and 55. Only 2 percent of the candidates are older than 56.


Chief Medical officer of the Mars One programme, Norbert Kraft, said that the next stage would involve rigorous selection challenges, and would most likely be a televised process. 

He added that the process would 'focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of our remaining candidates. We fully expect [them] to become celebrities in their towns, cities, and in many cases, countries'.

Further selection will take place throughout this year and next, with some of Earth's most remote and inhospitable locations earmarked for the programme. Once chosen, the crew will train in the desert and the Arctic for nine years, until the mission departs in 2024.

The journey to Mars is expected to take 210 days. Unmanned missions starting in 2018 are expected to pave the way for a small colony, delivering supplies and construction materials. There is no planned return mission.