Quote:
The first group of people to have the chance of starting a new colony on Mars by 2023 have been selected.
Mars One picked 1,058 people to progress to the next round in its search for humans who want to be the first to live, and die, on the Red Planet.
The hopefuls, who are all over the age of 18, will be shortlisted into a final group of 40 before training starts in 2018.
More than 200,000 people applied for a one-way ticket to Mars in a bid to become one of the first colonists, who are expected to settle on the planet by 2023.
A total of 297 of the candidates to make the first cut are from the U.S. while 75 are Canadian.
India was the next best represented country with 62 candidates, followed by Russia with 52, although the project originally set out to source applicants from 107 different countries.
Gillian Finnerty, 21, from the University of Sheffield and Dannielle Potter, 29, from Manchester University are among the Britons who made the first cut.
Almost 77 per cent of the people selected are employed, while 15 per cent are still at school, CBS reported.
Some 357 people are not yet 25, while 415 have not yet celebrated their 35th birthday.
The oldest person to make it to the next round is 81, which means they will be 90 when the settlement lands.
Each was asked to explain why they would leave behind their loved ones and revealed what they would take in their suitcase if they were chosen to be shortlisted.
Bas Landorp, co-founder of the Mars One project, said the candidates are the first tangible glimpse of what a new human settlement will look like.
‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications,’ he said.
Mars One picked 1,058 people to progress to the next round in its search for humans who want to be the first to live, and die, on the Red Planet.
The hopefuls, who are all over the age of 18, will be shortlisted into a final group of 40 before training starts in 2018.
More than 200,000 people applied for a one-way ticket to Mars in a bid to become one of the first colonists, who are expected to settle on the planet by 2023.
A total of 297 of the candidates to make the first cut are from the U.S. while 75 are Canadian.
India was the next best represented country with 62 candidates, followed by Russia with 52, although the project originally set out to source applicants from 107 different countries.
Gillian Finnerty, 21, from the University of Sheffield and Dannielle Potter, 29, from Manchester University are among the Britons who made the first cut.
Almost 77 per cent of the people selected are employed, while 15 per cent are still at school, CBS reported.
Some 357 people are not yet 25, while 415 have not yet celebrated their 35th birthday.
The oldest person to make it to the next round is 81, which means they will be 90 when the settlement lands.
Each was asked to explain why they would leave behind their loved ones and revealed what they would take in their suitcase if they were chosen to be shortlisted.
Bas Landorp, co-founder of the Mars One project, said the candidates are the first tangible glimpse of what a new human settlement will look like.
‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications,’ he said.
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