Mars One, a not-for-profit organization based in the Netherlands, announced it has selected 100 candidates to compete for a one-way ticket to Mars, reports People.
The company said in a news release Monday that it narrowed the participants down to 50 men and 50 women out of 200,000 applicants.
The remaining 100 are scheduled to compete in a reality television-style competition, which may air internationally, until there are only 24 remaining participants.
At this point in the competition, the company said the group “will participate in group challenges that demonstrate their suitability to become one of the first humans on Mars, and will be interviewed.”
“Being one of the best individual candidates does not automatically make you the greatest team player, so I look forward to seeing how the candidates progress and work together in the upcoming challenges,” said chief medical officer Dr. Norbert Kraft in a statement.
The remaining 24 will then be split into six crews of four team members each. Starting in 2024, Mars One hopes to launch a different crew every two years, and to ultimately colonize the planet.
However, a 2014 study from MIT reveals the organization could run into a sustainability problem. The university reports explorers could expect to survive at a maximum of 68 days with current technology. This assumes they’re successful at landing on the planet to begin with.
Participants, such as final 100 candidate Alison Rigby, remain optimistic about the mission, despite the criticism. “Pioneers are always ridiculed, but I am doing this for something better, which will hopefully benefit more people than just staying at home and keeping my mum happy,” she told CNN.
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