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Wanted: Bold space adventurers for daring mission to another planet

If you had the opportunity to sign on to a mission to help establish the first human colony on Mars, would you go for it?

What if the mission required that the trip be one-way only — that you'd never see Earth, or your family and friends, ever again. Would you do it then?

That's what Mars One founder Bas Lansdorp is proposing, though. He wants to land a group of adventurous pioneers on the Red Planet starting in 2023, but he wants to make it abundantly clear to anyone wishing to join that the trip would be a one-way ticket only.

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This isn't callous abandonment on his part, though. It's due to the limits on technology.

"The technology to get humans to Mars and keep them alive there exists," Bas Lansdorp told CBC Radio host Brent Bambury in an interview on Friday.

"The technology to bring humans from Mars back to Earth simply does not exist yet."

The project group is already working on securing partners for the mission, to get funding and to produce the spacecrafts, rovers and life-support systems, and they are now searching for those people who would be willing to make the trip.

Anyone can apply, but they do have some requirements:

Applicants need to be at least 18 years of age, have a deep sense of purpose, willingness to build and maintain healthy relationships, the capacity for self-reflection and ability to trust. They must be resilient, adaptable, curious, creative and resourceful. Mars One is not seeking specific skill sets such as medical doctors, pilots or geologists. Rather, candidates will receive a minimum of eight years extensive training while employed by Mars One. While any formal education or real-world experience can be an asset, all skills required on Mars will be learned while in training.

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If, after reading the requirements, and giving serious consideration to the fact that you will live out the rest of your life on a barren, inhospitable world, you still want to go, Mars One will start accepting applications sometime soon.

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