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[myrkul999]

So, looks like Mars One is going to be putting people on mars. The catch: the astronaut selection and training process will be broadcast reality show style. Here's the NBC News story about it. Thanks to Jeffrey A. Carver for the heads-up.

Edit: Looks like major portions of the mission itself will also be broadcast.

Looks pretty interesting.

So, what do you guys think?

[customdesigned]

I presume selling the video rights will be a source of revenue.  The one way idea has merit - it would suck to be one of the first 4 if the mission peters out before any more arrivals.

[macsnafu]

Wow.  Obviously, the media attention is good for keeping people interested and helping to finance the project, but I sure hope they're working on everything possible.  By all known accounts, living on Mars will be largely boring, except for the basic risk of danger if something goes wrong. 
There's great potential for real drama and tragedy, but I worry about that "reality show" tag, because reality shows tend to be anything but real.

The best part is that it is a private venture.  If the governments of the world let them do this and don't give them grief, then a positive trend will have been started, and the militarization of space might be avoided.

[Andreas]

For some reason I am reminded of the blade of an iron knife, whetted and whetted again until it was worn down to a shiv.

[Killydd]

It's an interesting concept, but I agree that you don't want media interference when things are getting dangerous anyway.  When the number of people stuck forever together like that is so low, they need to see each other as family.  Most of the danger and drama will be....quite boring really.  While it might help subsidize the colony, it won't pay for it by a long shot. 

[myrkul999]

It's my understanding that the media portion of the mission will be limited to installed cameras and a video diary from the colonists. I think, mostly, that's to ensure that critical mass is reached, and the colony takes off as its own thing. I have no doubt that the videos that actually get released for television will be heavily edited, to make it look more exciting and fun, but the live stream should be available as well.

All in all, I heartily approve. Anything that gets us to mars, I'll get behind. A private venture, I'd be willing to get out and push.

[customdesigned]

When the number of people stuck forever together like that is so low, they need to see each other as family. 

They aren't necessarily stuck *forever*.  There was a similar initially one-way Mars mission in the novel "Oxygen" (they encounter Apollo 13 style accidents and even sabotage en route to make the story exciting).  In that story, robotic missions landed supply depots ahead of the manned mission.  Once the advance team arrived, robotic missions sent additional supplies.  Among the supplies were parts allowing the team to eventually assemble the return rocket and mine and process fuel to power it.  (Note, the return rocket is not as powerful as a rocket leaving earth.)  In the novel, this process took 2 years.

It's probably a good idea to make no promises up front, however, so the volunteers know the extent of the risk they are taking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_%28novel%29

[sam]

The proposed colony is insufficiently self supporting.  I don't think you can generate enough money to sustain it from earth.

You really need to be able to stay alive without care packages from earth, otherwise the colony dies at the first major equipment malfunction.

For this colony to be feasible, we need further progress in fabbers, so that they can maintain, repair, and replace their survival equipment.

[myrkul999]

The proposed colony is insufficiently self supporting.  I don't think you can generate enough money to sustain it from earth.

I'm glad you're not in any way involved with this project.

Here's the thing: in order to generate money, they need to generate interest. An attitude like that is self defeating, and self fulfilling.
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

[SandySandfort]

The proposed colony is insufficiently self supporting.  I don't think you can generate enough money to sustain it from earth.

I'm glad you're not in any way involved with this project.

For one thing, he would make it an all-male crew. He wouldn't want any of those dull-witted females, screwing things up! Sam prefers the company of manly men, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. 

[Andreas]

The proposed colony is insufficiently self supporting.  I don't think you can generate enough money to sustain it from earth.

I'm glad you're not in any way involved with this project.

For one thing, he would make it an all-male crew. He wouldn't want any of those dull-witted females, screwing things up! Sam prefers the company of manly men, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. 

I see it now... Sam of Mars, the Colony.

Motto: Today Mars, tomorrow Uranus!

[mellyrn]

Motto: Today Mars, tomorrow Uranus!

Need smileycon for coffee snorted all over monitor. . . .

[Andreas]

I was thinking of putting a hyphen in "colony", but I decided it would have been of poor taste

[sam]

For one thing, he would make it an all-male crew. He wouldn't want any of those dull-witted females,

Obviously a colony needs females for sexual and reproductive purposes, even though they would be of limited value as scientists and engineers.

Although women are on average less bright than men (Check the LSAT results) the difference is not large, and there is a lot of overlap, except at the extremes.  However, though the IQ difference is modest, the difference on various measures of emotional maturity is large. A thirty year old woman has roughly the same future orientation and ability to postpone gratification as a fifteen year old boy does, which is why treating fertile age women as adults has not worked out successfully.

[macsnafu]

This is turning into a humorous thread, funnier than most of the online comics I read!