Are we ever going to get to the Red Planet? If Mars One has its way, people will be living there by the mid-2020s. But the Dutch firm behind the high-profile and ambitious plan to colonise Mars came under fire this week from a candidate who had been shortlisted for the one-way trip.
, a physicist at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, has spoken out about what he says are serious problems with the mission. Mars One hopes to launch its first uncrewed mission in 2018, followed by a crewed mission in 2024.
In an , Roche said that applicants are selected based on how many points they accumulate during the application process, and that points could be gained by donating money to Mars One or buying merchandise from the firm. High-profile candidates were simply those who had donated the most, he claimed. Roche also raised concerns over the selection procedure, which involved a Skype interview with Mars One鈥檚 chief medical officer and a questionnaire.
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But Suzanne Flinkenfl枚gel of Mars One told 快猫短视频 that many of Roche鈥檚 accusations were false. 鈥淐andidates鈥� donations do not have any influence on the astronaut selection process. Many round 3 candidates have never contributed financially beyond the application fee, and there are many that did contribute significantly but were not selected to proceed to the next selection round,鈥� she says.
Interview fee
Applicants were also encouraged to accept interviews with the world鈥檚 media 鈥� and many did so 鈥� but were then asked to donate 75 per cent of any appearance fees to Mars One.
But Flinkenfl枚gel says a contract is being renegotiated to give candidates a fairer deal.
鈥淚n anticipation of the contract, we suggested 75 per cent to them, without any obligation to do so,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ith the contract in place there will be another more beneficial revenue share for the candidates.鈥�
Mars One, criticised last year over its plans for life-support and habitat technology, has had more problems recently. Despite widespread media coverage of the final 100 applicants, the reality TV component of the mission looks to be over. In February, Dutch reality TV firm Endemol, which makes Big Brother, announced . Flinkenfl枚gel says it now has a new production company in place.
Others have raised serious doubt over the firm鈥檚 ability to keep . Gerard 鈥榯 Hooft, one of Mars One鈥檚 early backers, that the firm鈥檚 timeline and low costs were both rather ambitious. 鈥淚t will take quite a bit longer and be quite a bit more expensive. When they first asked me to be involved I told them 鈥榶ou have to put a zero after everything鈥�,鈥� he told the newspaper.
