Meet The 100 People Who Could Live On MARS And Never Return

One hundred brave souls from around the globe are now vying for a one-way ticket to Mars, knowing they will never return from the Red Planet. The Dutch-based Mars One project - which aims to send people to live on the faraway planet - has whittled down its shortlist of candidates from more than two hundred thousands to just fifty men and fifty women, more than thirty of them Americans.

Among the array of science fanatics, Trekies, physics majors, engineers and doctors, there were also a few more surprising choices, including a singer who was doing a two-man show in New York at the time of his application for the program; an artist with a fascinating family connection to NASA; a mechanic from a remote part of Utah, and an aspiring novelist.

Andrew Tunks (left), 28, works in health care technology and in his free time is writing a novel. His goal in life is to reduce suffering in the world; Carmen Paul (right), 32, serves in the National Guard and is an avid techie.

From this shortlist, a final crew of four will eventually be sent to Mars, scheduled to arrive in 2025 following a grueling seven-month journey from Earth. Among the 100 prospective Mars colonists, which hail from 40 countries, there are 33 US residents ranging in age from 19 to 60.

The American hopefuls come from all walks of life, including PhD students, engineers, artists, medical doctors, and even a singer and a workout trainer.
Out of the 33 men and women vying for the honors of traveling to Mars, half a dozen are over the age of 50, including a married father of five.

Ryan Macdonald (left) a physics student at Oxford University said: 'The most important thing to do in life is to leave a legacy. A lot of people do that by having a child...for me this would be my legacy.' Claire Weedon (right) is the only Briton who doesn’t work in science and is a self-confessed adrenaline junkie


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