Mars One cuts list of potential colonists to 100

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Dutch interplanetary exploration startup Mars One has further narrowed down the list of potential colonists from over 202,000 to just 100.

"I got one step closer to launching the dawn of a new era, human life on mars," declared Ryan MacDonald as he learned he was still a candidate.

MacDonald was one of three applicants for the Mars one mission thrust into the spotlight by a Guardian profile on three of the second round finalists. Of the three candidates spotlighted before the latest round of cuts, only MacDonald is still a candidate.

"I think the most important thing to do in life is to leave a legacy," the Oxford physics student said at the time.

Other potential colonists include a wide variety of scientists, project managers and even a man who claims to be a a martian.

"If you compare the Mars One mission to the moon landing, I think scientific progress, on a similar scale to what we experienced following that endeavor, is a reasonable expectation, " says 34-year-old Christian Knudsen of Denmark.

"Furthermore, personally, and without any scientific backing, I believe that the increase in living standard these advances allow, will leave more space for individuals to expand the sphere of people they care for and will sacrifice for, beyond themselves, beyond their family and beyond their nationality."

Australian Dianne McGrath, 45, wants to bring her "expertise in sustainable food" to Mars One's colonization attempt as she feels her skill set will be "critical in a completely new environment for human habitation."

And one candidate, 38-year-old Mikolaj Zielinski of Poland, says he is a millennia-old Martian eager to return to his home plane and help the Earthlings traverse Mars' dangerous lands.

"I am one of the first four Martians to arrive on your planet," claims Zielinski, who says his real name is M1-K0.

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Mars One cuts list of potential colonists to 100