Ex-NASA astronaut: Mars One mission a 'half-baked' idea that could RUIN our Red Planet bid
A FORMER astronaut has blasted a proposed manned trip to Mars - planned for just 12 years time - as a "half–baked" idea that could RUIN mankind's hopes of ever reaching the Red Planet.
Ex-NASA employee James F. Reilly, who has logged more than 853 hours in space and flown on three space shuttle missions, has claimed the Mars One project is "not really a good idea".
The privately-funded expedition to the Red Planet made headlines around the world in February when it released the names of 100 finalists, whittled down from 20,000 applicants, shortlisted for the voyage.
First announced in 2011, Mars One is not a space-faring agency and has been widely criticised since its launch.
Sceptics have pointed out a lack of funding, minimal signs of development and its Big Brother-style reality TV approach as reasons why it will never get off the ground.
American space hero Mr Reilly, aged 61 from Mesquite in Texas, has now joined those expressing doubts about the trip.
He said: "It’s half-baked, as I see it.
"Mars One is looking way down stream and proposing to just go and colonise [the planet] - we’re not there yet.
"There are a lot of details that have to be worked out first.
"To actually build a facility that would support a crew on Mars is very difficult.”
Mars One admits it is “not an aerospace company” and plans to outsource the manufacturing of all mission technology and hardware to third parties.
Humans have never set foot on Mars while there have been 43 unmanned missions to Mars to date; of which 23 have failed.
Mr Reilly, who was speaking at a private dinner he hosted at Wembley Stadium, spelled out why mankind has never made it to the Red Planet.
He added: "It’s a very, very long way away.
“It’s a three-year round trip, 140million miles away, and a dangerous trek to get there."
Mr Reilly, also a geologist, admitted he has a “personal issue” with the mission’s lack of a scientific objective.
He said: “Is it just to put that footprint in the red dust?
“One of the things I’m not necessarily a believer in is a one-way mission.
“In no time in our history have we ever sent explorers on a one-way trip – intentionally.
“It violates our tenets of exploration, which have always been to go and come back."
He also expressed concerns that the dubious Mars One plans could inhibit future missions.
“People may look at the Mars One reality TV footage and think that going to Mars is not a good idea," continued the former crew member of the International Space Station (ISS).
“It would be a disaster to give up that goal, to take the dream away from the next generation.”
Mr Reilly’s comments come amid fresh speculation over the Mars One project's viability.
The group behind the project, who are registered in the Netherlands, recently announced it was pushing back the planned launch to 2027, delaying take-off by two years.
CEO Bas Lansdorp detailed a lack of funding for a robotic mission preceding the human launch, yet the entrepreneur remains optimistic about the project’s feasibility.
He said: “We may have a two year delay now but we show that people are interested in Mars One and in Mars exploration.
“People want this to happen and it is my conviction that as long as we can show that we are moving in the right direction, that we are getting the right companies under contract, and we are getting these contracts done, then the world will accept that we have a delay in getting our humans to Mars.”
