'Citizen Mars,' Episode 1: Meet the people fighting to colonize the red planet
Sending a rover to Mars was hard, but putting humans on the surface of our nearest planetary neighbour? Until now that's been in the realm of science fiction. But for the Mars One Foundation, it's more than just a distant dream. The Dutch nonprofit has launched a multi-billion dollar project to establish a permanent human settlement on the planet by 2027. Mars One certainly has its skeptics, who question whether its ambitions are scientifically and technologically feasible, and also whether the foundation will receive the financing that it needs.
To establish a settlement, Mars One needs volunteers who are willing to leave Earth and never return. From the hundreds of thousands of potential candidates, 100 are left. And only 24 of them will receive an invitation to be employed by Mars One. In the first in our new five-part original series, Citizen Mars, you'll meet five of these candidates, who are willing to undergo extreme physical, psychological and social pressures to embark on an incredibly dangerous one-way trip to the red planet.
Introducing Sue Ann from Los Angeles; Mido from Cairo; Adriana from Cape Town; Shradha from Coimbatore, India and Pietro from Trieste, Italy. On the surface, they seem ordinary. But you'll soon find out there's more to them than meets the eye.
The Citizen Mars series takes an in-depth look at five of the 100 finalists for the Mars One mission. In each episode we chart the progress of everyday people determined to be the first to colonise the red planet.
Through interviews and extensive vérité that spans Europe, Africa, Asia and the US, discover the obsession with the future, adventure and space that's propelling them to leave everything -- and everyone -- behind.
