Mars Mission / Brain & Afterlife ~ Coast To Coast Am - January 8 2014

Coast To Coast Am - January 8 2014 - Mars Mission / Brain & Afterlife






Guests:     Ken Johnston, Matthew Alper

In the first half, Ken Johnston, a former NASA Data and Photo Control Department manager, talked about his bid to go to Mars as a participant in the Mars One program (run by a not-for-profit foundation that believes it can send people to the Red Planet much cheaper than NASA). So far in the process, he has moved into Round 2-- a group of 1,058 people under consideration, selected out of an initial group of over 200,000 applicants. His next step is to submit to psychological and physiological tests, and then face-to-face interviews. In Round 3, the field will be narrowed down to 100-200 candidates, who'll then become employees of Mars One and begin their training-- an 8 year process (the mission is slated to depart in 2022).

In 2018, Mars One proposes to send a communication satellite to orbit above the chosen landing site, and then 4-5 unmanned launches carrying various equipment such as rovers, and habitats that the team will need once they've arrived. The plan, Johnston explained, will be to send 10 teams of 4 astronauts each (two males/two females) at two-year intervals, with the first team setting up the initial space, and inflatable greenhouses. While it's envisioned that this will be a one-way trip (Johnston's wife of 30 years supports his decision to participate), the teams will be able to remain in constant contact with Earth, and conduct scientific missions.