Mars One narrows candidates to final 100

February 17, 2015

Credit: Thinkstock

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

For some people, Earth just isnt working out and an organization called Mars One is looking to send an elite crew of them to set up a colony on the Red Planet in just ten years.

On Monday, the organization announced that it had narrowed down its initial pool of more than 200,000 applicants from around the world to just 100.

The large cut in candidates is an important step towards finding out who has the right stuff to go to Mars, said Bas Lansdorp, co-founder and CEO of Mars One. These aspiring martians (sic) provide the world with a glimpse into who the modern day explorers will be.

Selection was kind of like online dating, but for finding people to travel millions of miles and possibly die alone

Technically in the projects Round Three, the remaining 100 are still standing after being culled from a group of 660 volunteers. To make the latest cut, participants had to pass online interviews with Dr. Norbert Kraft, Mars Ones chief medical officer. Interview questions were designed to gauge candidates understanding of the risks, their team spirit and their desire to emigrate millions of miles to Mars.

We were impressed with how many strong candidates participated in the interview round, which made it a very difficult selection Kraft said.

Surviving candidates include 50 men and 50 women, of which 39 from the Americas, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, 7 from Africa, and 7 from Oceania.

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Mars One narrows candidates to final 100