16-02-2025
On this day: Mars mission hopefuls include Durham University student
On this day in 2015, a Durham University student was among five Britons shortlisted for a one-way trip to Mars, aiming to become the first humans to set foot on the Red Planet.
Four women and a man from the UK were selected as part of the final 100 candidates for the Mars One Project, which planned to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars by 2024.
More than 200,000 individuals applied for the controversial privately-funded mission, which was estimated to cost six billion dollars and was set to be filmed for a reality television series.
Among the British hopefuls was Hannah Earnshaw, 23, a PhD student in astronomy at Durham University.
Mars
She said: "Human space exploration has always interested me so the opportunity to be one of the people involved was really appealing.
"The future of humanity is in space."
She added: "My family is pretty thrilled. They're really happy for me. Obviously it's going to be challenging, leaving Earth and not coming back. I've had support from my friends and family and we can still communicate via the internet."
As part of the selection process, Ms Earnshaw was to be tested in groups on her response to stressful situations before learning at the end of the year if she would be among the 24 chosen for the mission.
She said there would be eight or nine unmanned trips to Mars before the first group of four astronauts would be launched into space in 2024.
Addressing the scepticism surrounding the project, Ms Earnshaw remarked, "It's a very ambitious mission and requires lots of things going right for humans to leave the planet.
"But this project is encouraging other people to talk about the wider implications."
She added, "It's definitely feasible.
"Space travel is risky but at the same time, there is a time scale in place."
The other British candidates included Dr Maggie Lieu, 24, a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Birmingham; Ryan MacDonald, 21, an Oxford University student from Derby; Alison Rigby, 35, a science laboratory technician from Beckenham, Kent; and Clare Weedon, 27, a systems integration manager for Virgin Media from Addlestone, Surrey.
The Red Planet
In total, 50 men and 50 women were shortlisted from around the world, including 39 from the Americas, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa, and seven from Oceania.
They were selected from a pool of 660 candidates after participating in online interviews with the mission's chief medical officer, Norbert Kraft, where they were assessed on their understanding of the risks involved, team spirit, and motivation to be part of the expedition.
Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, co-founder of Mars One, stated, "The large cut in candidates is an important step towards finding out who has the right stuff to go to Mars.
"These aspiring martians provide the world with a glimpse into who the modern day explorers will be."
(From the The Northern Echo of February 16, 2025.)
