Life on Mars: Meet the five Brits shortlisted for a one-way mission to the Red Planet

FIVE Britons have been shortlisted for a one-way trip to the Red Planet, and if they are chosen they will make history, but what are their reasons for wanting to?

CGI design of Mars One settlement BRIAN VERSTEEG/MARS ONE

The proposed design of the Mars One settlement

ASK anyone if they fancied spending seven months travelling with three other people cooped up in a space equivalent to the interior volume of a Range Rover, running the risk of potentially fatal levels of cosmic ray radiation, and in the knowledge that one of the most reputable academic institutions in the world gives them just 68 days to live once they reach their destination and my guess is you wouldn’t get many takers.

Present it as a history-making one-way trip to Mars, however, and people will volunteer in their droves.

And this week it emerged that five Brits are among the final 100 candidates – whittled down from an original field of 200,000 – under consideration to be crew members on the first ever manned flight to the Red Planet slated for 2025.

Mars One, the Dutch company behind the venture, will now divide the shortlisted candidates into groups and subject them to a series of stressful situations so they can be assessed on how they react under pressure.

Endemol, the production company behind Big Brother, has been signed up to document the progress of the would-be Martians and the final 24 who will actually make the 140 million-mile trip to Mars will be selected on the basis of a vote by an international TV audience.

This may all sound very plausible but some sceptics doubt that the enterprise will ever graduate from reality TV show to planet-hopping actuality.

Before any humans are sent to Mars, the Dutch organisation has to install a communications satellite in a Mars stationery orbit and then send an “intelligent” rover to scope out a landing spot for habitation modules and life-support systems.

The spade-work complete, company founder Bas Lansdorp hopes to use a rocket launcher and space capsule from Californian spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX to transport his first colonists.

One recent exhaustive investigation into Mars One found that it had raised just £413,000 of its £3.9 billion target so far and many reckon that even that total would be hopelessly inadequate.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, for example, reckons such an undertaking would require between £65billion and £130 billion.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – the organisation that came up with the 68-day life expectancy report – is equally damning on the technological front.

None of this will blunten the enthusiasm of the five Brits who have made the last 100, however.

Like Lansdorp, they are confident that time and progress will overcome all hurdles.

BRITAIN’S WOULD-BE MARTIANS

MAGGIE “MOGS” LIEU

Age: 24

Occupation: Studying for a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Birmingham

Background: With her peroxide hair and giggly delivery, Coventryborn Lieu comes across as the ditziest of the British contingent but she clearly knows her interstellar onions.

“The trip is one way because there are no launch pads on Mars and it would require much more than the $6 billion [£3.9 billion] currently budgeted for the trip to bring us home,” she has said.

Her motivation springs from a desire to “explore new worlds that no one has ever been [to] before – only Rovers and they malfunction all the time”.

She adds: “I’ve always enjoyed communicating science because in my mind I’m potentially inspiring a future Einstein, a future Newton, or Galileo. Who knows?”

Why I want to go to Mars: “It would be incredible to be the Adam and Eve of another planet.

"Because it is a colonisation programme, it’s inevitable that eventually someone will procreate and it would be incredible to be the first mother on Mars...

"I’m sure it would be a challenge – nobody has done any research on giving birth in a low-gravity environment – but just being able to say that your baby was a Martian would be really funny.”

RYAN MACDONALD

Age: 21

Occupation: Physics student at Oxford University

Background: MacDonald, an egghead from Derby who can recall the value of the mathematical entity pi to 90 digits, speaks with missionary zeal about the ambitious project he has signed up to.

“Humanity’s greatest strength is our ability to dream of a better world, to imagine a future and to inspire a generation, to bring it to life,” he says.

“Make no mistake, this is not a one-way mission because the dreams that we brought back from that far of world will change everything and I want to help make that change happen.”

He reckons he’s “a perfect candidate” for the mission because “I’m crazily optimistic as anyone will tell you.”

He adds: “If something goes wrong, I will identify the problem, find a solution and systematically deal with it because I know that any problem can be solved.

"But you have to be determined because on Mars there’s no giving up.”

Why I want to go to Mars: “The most important thing to do in life is to leave a legacy.

"A lot of people do that by having a child, having a family.

"For me this would be my legacy.

"Hundreds of years down the line who is going to know who was the President of the United States? Everyone will remember who were the first four people who stepped onto Mars.”

HANNAH EARNSHAW

Age: 23

Occupation: Studying for a PhD in astronomy at Durham University

Background: An earnest young woman, Earnshaw sings and plays the ukelele in her spare time and, in true geek fashion confesses to being a fan of computer games.

Many parents might view the prospect of losing a child forever to the terrifying vastness of outer space with something less than enthusiasm but not Mr and Mrs Earnshaw apparently: “My family is pretty thrilled,” she says.

“They’re really happy for me.

"Obviously it’s going to be challenging, leaving Earth and not coming back.

"I’ve had support from my friends and family and we can still communicate via the internet.”

Why I want to go to Mars: “Human space exploration has always interested me, so the opportunity to be one of the people involved was really appealing.

"The future of humanity is in space.”

ALISON RIGBY

Age: 36

Occupation: Lab technician

Background: Rigby from Beckenham in Kent comes across as a down-to-earth type with a nice line in self-deprecating humour.

“It’s funny how things turn out,” she says in her Mars One video.

“Yesterday I was hoovering, today I’m asking to be an envoy of mankind.

”Until she gets the call, however, she will have to content herself with her day job of preparing experiments for A-level students and indulging her passion for “table-top war games

Why I want to go to Mars: “For selfish and selfless reasons.

"Selfishly, I want to be remembered for doing something great and I really want to see Olympus Mons [a mountainous feature more than twice the height of Mount Everest].

"Selflessly, I think it’s time for humans to leave the Earth and start living somewhere else and I have the skills to help make that happen.”

CLARE WEEDON

Age: 27

Occupation: Systems integration manager with Virgin Media Background: Weedon is the only British candidate without a history in science.

A vivacious character, she comes across as someone who could prove an exhausting travelling companion.

“I love adrenaline,” she says in her online profile, adding: “I asked a friend of mine their opinion and they described me as ‘a bowlful of jelly, all giggly and fun’ and I guess I agree with that.”

Why I want to go to Mars: “I want to go because it’s the ultimate experience of a lifetime.

"I believe there is more to life than marriage and babies.”

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